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ANTARCTICA 







NTARCTICA 


TWO YEARS AMONGST THE ICE OF 
THE SOUTH POLE 


BY 

DR. N. OTTO G. NORDENSKJOLD 

WD 

DR. JOH. GUNNAR AN DERSSON 


LONDON 

HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED 

1R2, HIGH HOLBORN, W.C. 

1905 


Alt rights I nerved 




PREFACE. 


It was at the International Geographical Congiess, held m London 
m iSg 1 ), that the thought of exploimg the South Polar zone — 
the last great unknown region of the earth—by means of inter¬ 
national collaboration between the countues interested, first 
assumed fast form Only by attacking the region named from 
seveial different points, and by simultaneously carrying out 
observations, made in accoidance with one and the same plan, 
could there he any hope of greatly extending, at one blow, our 
knowledge of these enormous tracts 

In what manner this plan was afterwards realised is now a 
matter of public knowledge. The exploration of the Antarctic 
regions was undertaken by England, Germany and Sweden, 
England being given the task of investigating the tracts south 
ol the Pacific, and Germany that of carrying out similar work 
south of the Indian Ocean. The thiid expedition, which—to 
the greatest degree, on my initiative—was despatched from 
Sweden, had its field of labour in the lands and seas lying to the 
south of South America and the Atlantic 

It was no light matter to procure in Sweden from private 
sources the means necessary for such an enterprise, and in the 
matter of valuable equipments we could not think of competing 
with our richer sistei-expeditions The general plan was, however, 
the same for all three, viz , to leave Europe m the summer of 1901, 
and to spend the following Antarctic winter at some fixed station 
within the South Polar regions. I detei mined, however, not to 
retain my vessel—the Antarctic, well known from several previous 
expeditions both 111 northern and in southern tracts—at our 



VI 


PREFACE. 


station, for, although I was, of course, well aware that my so 
doing would possess certain advantages, there was reason to 
believe that it would be difficult to find a suitable harbour on 
the east coast of the land, and, moreover, investigations of the 
highest importance could fie earned out, m the seas lying between 
South America and the South Georgia Islands, by the scientific 
staff that was to remain on board during the winter. 

To fill the post of commander of the Antarctic, I succeeded 
in obtaining that most competent of all seamen in northern and 
southern Polai waters, Captain C. A. Larsen, already known as 
the discoverer of King Oscar II Land and of the first fossils found 
in South Polar regions, during Ins voyages m 1S92 and 1893, in 
the same tracts which were to be the scene of onr labours It 
was also of importance to find a man fully qualified to undertake 
the leadership of the expedition after I had landed with the 
wintering-party, and the person who entered Ihe party in that 
capacity was Dr Johan Gunnar Andersson, at present lecturer 
at the University of Upsala He was not able to join the Expe¬ 
dition, however, until the vessel had returned from the wintering- 
station to the Falkland Island. 

The plan of the whole was, then, as follows : Our Expedition 
was to leave Sweden as early as possible m the autumn of 1901 
for the South Shetlands, and thence go to the east coast of that 
extensive and then unknown stretch of land which lies to the 
south of these islands. Here we were to endeavour to penetrate 
as far southwards as we could, either along this coast or, possibly, 
farther eastwards, and then land the wintering-party, which was 
to consist of six persons under my personal leadership, at some 
suitable and snow-free place. The Antarctic was then to return 
to the Falkland Islands and Tiena del Fuego, in order to spend 
the winter in these tracts, and in the neighbourhood of South 
Georgia, in scientific work. On the return of spring, tile vessel 
was to fetch off the wintering-party ; the greatest possible use 
was to be made of the summer, and in May, 1903, we were to be 
once more in Sweden. 

But this plan was to be most essentially modified, however. 



PREFACE. 


VII 


The Antarctic summer of 1902-03 was the coldest and, as lar as 
the ice-conditions are concerned, the worst that has hitherto 
been experienced. The German Expedition alone succeeded— 
at the very last moment and with the greatest difficulty—in 
extricating itself from the ice and sailing for home The English 
Expedition did not succeed m getting out of the ice and was obliged 
to remain there for another year - This was also the case with 
us, although m a different way When the Antarctic was on her 
way to bring off our wmtermg-party, it was soon discovered that 
it would be extremely difficult to penetrate even to such a northerly 
point as the place where we had our station. A twofold effort 
to reach us was then made • Dr. Andersson and two companions 
attempting to reach us by travelling over the ice that covered 
and surrounded the land, while the vessel tried to force a way 
farther to the east. 

Both attempts to reach us failed. The Antarctic was nipped 
by the ice and sank, and the two relief parties had to spend the 
winter at two different points on the Erebus and Terror Gulf, 
unable to communicate with each other or with us. 

The lot of each of the three parties during a second enforced 
wintering, the wonderful circumstances that attended our reunion; 
and our return to the world of the living, on hoard a vessel belonging 
to a foreign nation, form a chapter which is almost unique m the 
story of latter-day expeditions It is related m this work 
by the leaders of the various parties, viz,, myself, Dr, Andersson 
and Captain Larsen. As the latter has not had the opportunity 
of giving a complete account of Ins division of the Expedition, 
a great part of these final chapters has been written by C J. 
Skottsberg, one of the scientists of Captain Larsen’s party. 

But if, in many respects, our Expedition has had more reverses 
to contend against than most others, these adverse fortunes have 
not affected the scientific and geographical results obtained In 
these respects our programme has been carried out to the full, 
and there can be no doubt but that these results have been 
made much more complete by the continuance of our labours 
through a second winter. 



VU1 


PREFACE 


However great my goodwill may be, it is not possible lor 
me to give in this book, and in addition to the many references 
already made m its pages, any connected survey of the scien¬ 
tific results ol the Expedition. The Swedish State has granted 
the money necessary for the editing of such a repoit, and the 
examination of our material is already m progress, but several 
years must elapse ere the work can be completed in which wc shall 
give all the scientific results of the work of the Swedish Antakctic 
Expedition, 


0 NORDENSKJOLD. 



CONTENTS 


PART I. 

cini'i'im 1'ic.ii, 

I.—From Sweden to Antarctica . . ,3 

II. —Our Firs. r Days in Antarctic\ . . .23 

III. —Our Work, on the East Coast . . .43 

IV. —A Few Pages from the History of Antykcitcal 

Exploration . . 67 

V. —A Voyage of Discovery in the Weddell Sea . 80 

VI. —Arrival at the Wintering Station . . 94 

VII. —The First Weeks at the Wintering Station 107 

VIII.—An Adventurous Boating Journey . . 123 

IX.—Waiting for Winter . 138 

X.--Storms and Cold . . 159 

XI,—-The Days begin to Grow Longer . 182 

XII.—The Sledge Expedition, 1902: the First Week . 197 

XIII. —The Sledge Expedition, 1902 ( continued ): To¬ 

wards King Oscar’s Land . . 211 

XIV. —Tiie Sledge Expedition, 1902 . the Journey 

Home ..... 224 

XV. —The Summer • its Work and Results 241 

XVI.—Vain Expectations . . 257 

XVII, —The Second Winter 272 

XVIII.—Moods and Modes of. Life During the Winter . 283 
XIX. —Discovery of Crown Prince Gustaf Channel . 295 

XX.—An Unexpected Meeting . 306 



X 


CONTENTS 


PART II. 

CIUOTB T vnl1 ' 

I —To the Falkland Islands . . • • 3 21 

II.—The First Days in the Land of the Sea- 

Elephants ..... 337 

III—Tent Life and Boat Expeditions . . . 347 

IV•—Tierka del Fuego and the Ona Indians. 366 

V.—To Lago Fagnano . . . 3 ?^ 

VI.—Southwards . . ■ ■ 39 2 

VII—The Way Closed . . . • 4°7 

VIII.—In an Unknown Archipelago . . 423 

IX.—Waiting.—We Build a Winter Hut . . 43s 

X.—Food and Firing . . . 449 

XI. —Midwinter .... . 46“ 

XII. —Winter Seals and Signs of Spring , 470 

XIII. —Cape “Well Met i” . • . 479 

XIV. —After the Meeting . 492 

XV.— A Day of Wonders. . . . 502 

XVI.—From Snow Hill to Paulet Island . 514 

XVII.—The Beginning of the End . . 521 

XVIII,—Towards Destruction . 528 

XIX—Over the Drifting Ice . . '537 

XX.—House and PIome, Food and Clothes . 544 

XXI.—Winter—Life on Paulet Island . . . 556 

XXII —Wennersgaard’s Death. Midwinter . , 564 

XXIIL—Boat Expedition from Paulet Island to Hope 

Bay and Snow Hill Island . . -569 

XXIV.—“Hail! Hail! Thou Northern Land ! . . 578 

XXV.—The Journey Home on Board tiie “Uruguay” , 584 

XXVI.—From Buenos Ayres to Sweden . . . 592 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Dr. Otto Norden&kjold .... . Frontispiece 

r vgf. 

Members of the Swedish South Polar Expedition on their 

Depaiture from Gothenburg ... i 

From an Elevated Point of View . , , , 5 

We Begin to Feel the Warmth . . .7 

On the Deck of the Antarctic under a Tiopical Sun . 9 

View of Harbour at Buenos Ayres ... 10 

Lieutenant J. M. Sobral . . ..12 

Map Showing the Couise of the Antarctic from Sweden to the 

South Polar Regions . . . 15 

The Antarctic in Port Stanley Haiboui . . 17 

Bird-life on New Year Island (Incubating and Flying Cor¬ 
morants) ... .19 

Before the Storm. Off Joinville Island, on the evening of 

the 23rd February, 1902 ( coloured) . facingp. 24 

Our First Landing in Antarctica . . . 27 

A Weddell Seal (Leptonycholes Weddelli) . 29 

Thousands of Cape Pigeons Follow the Boats on theii Return 

from Harmony Cove to the Ship ... 31 

Snow Landscape in Louis Philippe Land . 33 

Scenery in Gerlache Channel. 35 

Cape Roquemaurel ... -37 

Danco Land, near Wilhclnnna Bay. . 39 

Mount Bransfield from the North . . 41 

The Iceberg still shone in the reflection of the last Sun-Lays 
Sidney Herbert Bay; 9 p.m., 10th February, 1902 

{coloured) . . facing $.42 

In the Antarctic Channel, near the Argentine Islands , . 45 

A Cape from Louis Philippe Land, South of Hope Bay . . 47 

We were Surrounded by Thousands of Penguins when we 
Began our Work on the Shore, 


49 




Xll 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


t’ACH 

'['lie Penguins have an Horn’s Conveisation in the Dusk out 

on the Ice 5 1 

Ciater Lake, Paulet Island 55 

The Outposts of the Ice 55 

Penguin Bay, Seymoui Island . '57 

Caun and Signal-post on Seymour Island 59 

The Faither South we Came, the Closei lay the Ice fii 

Mighty Icebergs aie Sometimes seen Amid the Ice. . 6 $ 

Even the Dogs weic Allowed to come Down on the lee . . 65 

Wintering-station at Snow Hill; 21st Fehiuaiy, 1902 

{coloured) . . . facing p. 66 

S11 James Ross ..... 67 

The Latest Map of W. Antarctica helme the Belgian and Swedish 

Expedition (after Fuekei) . . 77 

“ Heie’s a Health unto His Majesty 1 ” 21st Januaiy, 1902 81 

The Tow-net comes up .83 

Seals out on Drift-ice . . 85 

The Supposed Island Turned out to he a Large Icebcig . 87 

Drift-ice .... . 8 y 

It is Fine to see how well our Ship Manages Amid the Ice . 91 

We Lay-to Beside some Piessure Ice to fill out Cisterns with 

Ice. ... 95 

Sunset in Admiralty Channel; 8 p.m., 13th Fehiuaiy, xyoz. 

The wintering-station is situated faithest to the left 
(1 coloured ) . . faung />. 94 

Thick Pack-ice, January 251I1 , . ... 97 

It was Interesting to find that Sidney Herbert Bay goes in 

much farther than the Charts make out . . 99 

On the Way to the Crow’s Nest . . . , . roi 

Wc made our Way to the Shoic between the Blocks of Ice that 

lay Aground. . . .103 

Oui Things are Tdken on Shoie by means of a Raft made of 

Two Boats and Towed by a Third.105 

The Uprights of our Future Dwelling Blouse were Alieady 

Raised upon the Hill.. IC >9 

The First Meal in our Impiovised Dining-ioom on the Shoie . x ti 
Station-house at Snow Hill: Vertical Section and Plan of 

Ground Floor. , . H3 

The Puppies’ Resting Place . r2 j 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xiii 

P VGH 

We took Advantage of the Flood-tide to Launch oui Heavily- 

laden Boat . . 125 

It was 0111 Fast Attempt at Driving Dogs m these Regions . 131 

Oiu Camping Place off Lockyer Island 133 

The Magnetic Obseivatoiy . 141 

The Thermometer Scieen (with Theimograph and Hygro- 

metei and an Evaporation Gauge on the Roof) . 143 

A Wall of the Dining-room, with some of the Bactenological 

Appaiatus ..... , 143 

Bodman at Woik at the Dining-table. On the Wall can be 
seen the Ilaiograph, Evaponmetei, the Registering Appa¬ 
iatus of the Anemometer, the Papei for the Sunshine 
Recoidei, an Aneioid, &c. 147 

The Rounded Blocks of Ice on the Shore . 149 

The Wmtei-station with the Theimomcter Screen and the 
Astronomical Obseivatory 151 

On a Sledge Expedition . 153 

Ice-Formations on the Shoic 157 

Our Anemometei 159 

“Niggei,” one of oui Falkland Dogs . 161 

Ravine-valley, neai the Dwelling-house at the Station . 165 

The Perpendicular Termination (Chinese wall) of Snow Hill 
Glacier, piojectmg into the sea. (Shows the Regulai Neve 
Stratification). . . 167 

I Dressed Myself in full Wind Dress . . 169 

Our lug Boat had Blown away along the Shore and lay Smashed 

against the Ice ... . . 17 r 

Covering of Snow on the Instruments after a seveie Storm 177 
Ross Island and Mount Haddington . . 182 

View from the Heights North of the Station. (To the Left is 
seen the Basalt Peak; in the Middle the Nunatak and 
the Ravine where the SlatLon was situated; to the Right 
is Caught a Glimpse of Lockyer Island) 183 

Flaying our First Seal ... .185 

At the Wnting-table. O. Nordenskpld . , 187 

We rveie, on the whole, well Satisfied with our Dwelling-house. 191 
Jonassen with one of the Greenland Dogs . . 193 

View from one of the Ravines at the Station Mount Had¬ 
dington In the Background, . . 19S 

Ere we Started a Photogiaph was Taken of all Six of Us. . 199 



XIV 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The Stayeis-at-Home . , . . 

The Wayfaiers 

Mount Christensen from the Lower Teriace 
Our Camping-ground at the Castor Nunatak 
Our Four-footed Comiades ... 

Several tunes we Sank Through Bioad Fissuies, and then we 
had to take Prompt Measuics . . . 

At last we Succeeded rn Finding a Somewhat Sheltered Spot 

Amongst the Rocks . 

View from our most Southerly Point, towaids King Oscai II 
Land, with Richthofen Valley 
King Oscai II. Land in lat. 65° 45 S. 

Aftei the Stoim .... 

The Wind was Bitmgly Cold and it would have been Impossible 
to March had it not been Behind Us 
The Wild, Dark Brown Precipices of Lockyei Island 
The Skua (Megalestris), our Chief Game-bird . . . . 

Bieeding-place of Cormorants on Cockburn Island . 

View of the Cross Valley in which the Plant Fossils weie 
found Cockburn Island in the Background 
Tei tiary Plant Fossils from Seymoui Island . . . . 

Fossils from Cretaceous System , found on Seymour and Snow 

Hill Islands. 

Our Festive Christmas Table . 

The Basalt Hill. 

Bodman Carrying out Magnetic Obscivations. 

“ EkeloPs Rocks ”, Jagged, Piecipitous Sandstone Rocks in the 
North-eastern part of Snow Hill Island . 

The Young Penguin Receiving the Food Collected by the 
Mother During the Day ... ... 

View from Wintering Station • the Basalt Plill is Visible, but 
a Mist lies ovei the Plateau ... . 

A “ Sparkstotting ”... . 

The Doctor Busied with Physiological Investigations 
The Hill Outside the Dwelling-house: the Thermometer 
Screens, and the Astronomical Observatory 
A Snorting Seal looks out at Us from his Hole 
The Shortest Day of the Year : the Sun looks out from behind 
Cockburn Island 

The Large Iceberg in Admiralty Sound ..... 


nan 

201 

207 

209 

213 

215 

219 

221 

227 

229 

23I 

2 33 

235 

243 

245 

247 

249 

251 

255 

259 

261 

263 

267 

269 

272 

273 
27s 

277 

279 

285 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xv 

taxie 

One of the Berths . . . 289 

End of a Sledge-jouiney. . . . 291 

Sobral “ Shooting the Sun ” in Winter Weathei 293 

We Begin oui Maich ... . 297 

In the Morning a Gieat Part of our Tent was Buried in the 

Snow ... . . . 299 

Before us lay a Peculiar, almost Hemisphencal, Island . 302 

Cape Lagrelius ... . . 303 

Wilhelm Carlson Island, fiom the East . 305 

We PiLchcd 0111 Tent by the side of Theii Sledge 309 

An Emperoi Penguin . . ’313 

Out New-found Coimades on their Anivalat Snow Hill . 315 

Joh Gunnar Andeisson. , 319 

The slntarctu \\\ Cumheiland Bay. . 323 

P01L Stanley . . . . . . . 325 

Tussock-coveied Island. Poit Stephens. . . 327 

A Shoie Picture fLom the Falklands, with a Pan ol Kelp Geese 
(CMotphaga hybnda). Off the Shore can be Seen a Band 
of the Floating Masses of Leaves of the Kelp (Mact myitis) 328 
Gump of Gulls (Letupfihtan scoredni) 329 

Aich Island. • 330 

A Part of the Coast Outside Poit Stephens . . 331 

The Fair Rosamond aftei the Stoim . . 332 

They weic Game, both of Them Motive from Royal Bay . 337 

Map of South Geoigia ... ... 339 

They were Awakened fiom Indolent Repose. (Full-grown Sea 

Elephants.) Motive flora Cumberland Bay . . . 341 

Amphipod. South Georgia. Entrance to Cumberland Bay. 
135-168 fath Mud bottom. One and a half times en 

laigcd. 343 

Dwelling-house of the German Station Royal Bay . 344 

Sketch-map of termination of the Ross glaciei 345 

The Old Centre-board Boat at Boiler Bay . . . 347 

The West Shoie of May Cove . • 349 

May Cove and Mt, Duse. . 35 1 

Young Male Sea Elephant. Cumberland Bay. . . 353 

Lower Part of Bore Valley. 355 

Floating Pieces of Glacici Ice in Moraine Fiord . . • 35 6 

Sea Leopard. Cumberland Bay ...... 357 





XVI 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 


I* nil’ 

Tussock Glass (Poa Ciespitosa). Cumberland Bay • 359 

Hambeig Glacier and its Old Teiminal Moiaiuos . . . 361 

The Antarctic m Iloilei Bay . ■ . 363 

The “ Quailying Camp” . 364 

The Old Giaveyaid . . . 365 

Motive fiom Beagle Channel . . . 366 

Axel Ohlin Died m Sweden 12th July, 1903. . , 367 

Gorgovoceplialu's Stai-fish with Branching Anns. Buitlwood 

bank. 76 fath Three-fifths of Natuial She . . . 369 

Staifish from Burdwood bank. 76 fath. Nine-tenths of 
Natural Sue . . . 371 

Group of Ona Indians .... ... 373 

Ona Woman Can ying the Family Tent . . . 375 

Wennersgaaid in the Canvas Boat on Lago Fagiuno . . 378 

Ona Man. In Fiont lies his Dress, and to the Lett his Quivei 379 
The Wmtei-Green Beech (Feigns betulonics) . . . , 381 

On the Way to Lago Fagnano ... . 385 

Ole Wennersgaaid Died at Paulet Island, 7th June, 1903 . 391 

Duftmg Towards an Iceberg. The Morning of November 21st 395 

Antarctic Penguins. 397 

A Fait of the East Shoie of Timity Island .... 399 

Cape Neyt and Mont Alio . 401 

Motive from the Oilcans Channel. The Antarctic is Visible 

through the Rocky Poilal ... '403 

Robbing Penguin Nests in Antaictiea , . 405 

Pillar-shaped Rocky Islets near Pendleton Island . 407 

North Coast of Louis Philippe Land . , 409 

Rosamel Island. 4x3 

Breaking up camp aftei the snow-storm of Jan. 3 -it . . 423 

Back to the Depot Place, The “ Pyramid ” Nunatak in the 

Backgiound ... . . . 433 

Captain S. A. Duse .... ... 435 

Hope Bay.. , • -137 

Cladopklebis Fein from the Juiassic Flora at Hope Bay. One- 

half the Natural Size.438 

Camp Expectation . 43y 

W inter Hut at Hope Bay while the Outside Passage was 

Building , .441 

Araucaria exceha. Norfolk Island, to the East of Australia . 443 




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PterophyUum. From the Jiuassic Floia at Hope Bay Fom- 

fifths of the Natural Size.. 

Otozctnutw From the Jruassic Floia at Hope Bay. Natutal 
Size . ... . 

The Antarctic Penguins........ 

A Giant Petrel Killing a Young Adelite Penguin 
Mtdwmlei Feast al Hope Bay, June 24th, 1903 
Weddell Seal. , . . . 

Kitchen Interior . . .... 

Meal-time m the Stone Hut al Hope Bay 

The Cook comes out of the Hut aftei a Snowstorm . 

Innci Fait of Hope Bay Showing the Valley Glacier, with 
Perpendicular Termination and Lateial Moiaine, and, 
to the Left, the Rounded IIill Formerly Coveted by the 

Valley Glaeici. 

Araucarite 1. Fiom the Jiuassic Flora at Hope Bay. Natural 
Size .... . . . . 

There Really was a Fish Stiugghng at the End of the Seal skin 

Rope.. 

Fishing-hook made Out of a Shoe-buckle Natural Size . 

Duse Shoots a Seal. 

Onwatds to Snow Hill. 

Female Weddell Seal with Young One. Motive fiom Cockbuin 

Island . . 

I went Down the Hill to the Tent al a Whizzing Pace 
The Dogs made a Wild Dash to one Side on Catching Sight of 
the Two Wild Men ...... 

Grunden Befoie and After his Transformation 
Horn Coial. Off Seymour Island. 80 fath. Two-thirds of 
Natural size . ...... 

Weather-worn Masses of Rock, Containing Fossils, on the 

Plateau at Snow Hill Island. 

Andcisson and Jonassen Biought Back the Meat of about 70 
Coimoiants and Penguins from Cockburn Island . 

The Camp at Cockbum Island . .... 

Ekelof at the Microscope. 

Interview Between the Dogs and an Emperor Penguin . 
Outside the Observatory in Summer Weather.... 
Our First Meeling with the Argentine Navol Officers 


xvrt 

1‘iU.l' 

445 

447 
45 i 
453 
455 
45 6 
457 

463 

465 


466 

467 

47i 

473 

475 

481 

483 

487 

489 

491 

493 

494 

495 

496 

497 
499 

S°i 

505 


b 






XV111 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1‘AGIl 

'I he Valley vvheie wc Dwelt, between the Snow Hill Glacier 
and the Snow-fiee Land The Magnetic Obseivatoiy is 
Visible in the Middle ..... . 507 

Weather-worn, Solitary 11 a,sail Pillar neai 0111 Wintcnng Place . 509 

Captain Inzar The Leadei of the Aigcntme Relief Expecition 511 

Our Last Hour of Waiting on the Shoie.515 

On the Way Out to the Uruguay . ... 517 

r I he Stone Hut on Paulet Island, with the Uruguay off the 

Island . . .519 

The Antantu Amongst Piessurc Hummocks. . 523 

After the Combat with the Ice . ... 525 

The Last Embrace . . 526 

At Woik on the Injured Stein , . . . 529 

A Last Farewell . ... . . 531 

The End Approaching . . .... 533 

The End 1 .... ... 534 

The Loss of the Antarctic Soon Nothing but the Tops of the 

Mast aie Visible Above the Surface.535 

Our Fust Camping-place on the Ice . . . . 539 

The Winter-Dwelling on Paulet Island when the Expedition 

Left • $47 

An Adobe Penguin Moulting.549 

The Penguin Colony at Penguin Island (January, 1902) . 551 

C. Skottsberg. The Winter Dress as Used on Paulet Island . 553 

Paulet Hut in its Winter Dress . . ... 559 

Paulet Island. . . . . s® 1 

VVennersgaard’s Grave. In the Background, Dundee Island 

and the Uruguay . . . . . . . . 565 

Weddell Seal on the Ice. . . . , . 5C9 

C. A Laisen . . ....... 571 

Winter Hut on Paulet Island, Suirounded by Penguins . . 579 

The First Eggs. . . 581 

The Argentine Observatory on New Yeai Island . . 587 

In Santa Cruz.. 589 

The Uruguay Entering the Harbour at Buenos Ayies . . 595 

The Officers and Crew of the Antarctic on their Return to 

Sweden 399 




MAPS. 


Sketch-map of Cumberland Bay, South Oeorgia . facing p. 338 
Sketch-map of Hope Bay, Louis Philippe Land . ,, 434 

Mat of f he Northern Part of the MAINLAND AND 
ISLANDS OF WEST ANTARCTICA . facingp. 316 

Preliminary Chart showing the TRACK. OF THE 
ANTARCTIC within the South Polar Regions 
and the Neighbouring Seas, 1902-3 . End of Vo/. 


Erratum —For Sidney Hmbo'ui Bay (page 99), please read Sidney Ihrbeil 
Bay. 


Noik—T he seal lnefitioned on p 32 , Chapter II., Pari I., pioved, on 
culmination, to be a sea-beai or fui-seal, At ctocephalus. 




Photo by} Ho damn _ Skottsbeig lv X. Anderssom 

Oblin. JSorderts&joId. Iiaiicn T'.'bpV. 

Members of the Swedish South PoJarJExpedjtion on their departure from Gothenbi 




ANTARCTICA. 


- 15 - 

CHAPTER I. 

FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA. 

Depaituie flora Gothenlmig—A flying visit to London—-Falmouth—Buenos Ayies— 
We me joined by Lieut. Soliral and Mi Stokes—List of the membeis. of the 
Expedition —Port Stanley—Staaten Island—We entci Antaiclic seas 

THERE lay a touch of autumn 
over the city of Gothenburg 
early on the 16th October, 
1901; a light morning mist en¬ 
veloped the town, and its streets 
and houses and the trees of the 
avenues where the last yellow- 
tinted lemains of summer ver¬ 
dure still lingered, while the 
sun, gradually breaking through 
the haze and illuminating the 
picture with its pallid rays, 
shone down also upon the mem¬ 
beis of the Swedish South Polar 
Expedition making their way to 
their vessel, which lay at the quay gaily dressed in bunting as 
though in preparation for a feast. 

Crowds of people are already assembled at the water’s 
edge, and many otheis are hurrying to the spot, when we 
go on board attended by our closest friends and relations, 
to find everything in order for the voyage. I have long been 




4 


ANTARCTICA 


hoping for this hour, the fruit of many years’ efforts, but 
at the moment I feel none of the pleasure which should 
accompany departure, for just now all feelings and thoughts 
are given to parting ; to a long, long parting, a farewell which 
has a touch of solemnity in it, for who shall say which of 
those who now bids a friend farewell shall ever press the other’s 
hand again. 

It is almost precisely io o’clock when the lopes are cast 
loose which have hitherto held us fast to our native land ; 
a last grip of the hand of those we hold dearest, a few, short, 
clear orders from the captain’s bridge, and the Antarctic 
glides slowly ahead on the dark water. Just as we cast off, 
a call for a cheer for the Expedition is heard from the land, 
followed by a thousand-voiced “ Hurrah! ” and this wo 
on board answer with a parting cheer for Sweden. The 
place by the side of which the vessel has been moored begins 
to be clear of people, and will soon resume its ordinary ap¬ 
pearance, but a few still stand there, whose gaze long follows 
us, and to whom our looks are directed as long in answer. 
Even these at last disappear from view and we turn to new 
pictures. The vessels in the roadstead give us greeting; 
here and there along the shore flags are hoisted and greet 
us as we pass, whilst we slip farther and farther out to sea, 
towards the ocean which, for a long tune, is to be our only 
dwelling-place. 

We do not at once direct our course to the South, but 
first make a short call at Sandefjord in order to complete our 
equipment there There we also separate temporarily from 
one of the members of the Expedition who has been my 
next man during the whole period of planning and prepara¬ 
tion—J. Gunnar Andersson. He had been foremost in all 
the work at Gothenburg, but was now obliged to leave us for 
a time in order to complete his academical studies ; this 
absence should last for a few months only, after which he 
was to go out to the Falkland Islands, there to assume the 
command of the party left on board after I had gone on 
shore with the wintering expedition. 



FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA 


5 


The next port the ship was to call at—and the last one 
m Europe—was Falmouth, but on the way there I left 
the vessel at Dover m order to be able to run up to London, 
where I was received in the friendliest manner possible by 
leading geographical circles, and where Sir Clements Markham, 
at a lunch given by the Royal Geographical Society, ex- 



Fholoby'] _ [G. Bodaivn, 

From an elevated point of view. 


pressed his own and the Society’s warmest wishes for the 
success of the Expedition. 

I was especially touched by the fact that Mr Bruce, the 
leader of the proposed Scottish South Polar Expedition, had 
come to London to meet me, and also to convey tile good wishes 
of the Scottish Geographical Society, The two Expeditions 
had so many points of common interest that it was of 



6 


ANTARCTICA. 


special importance to come to an agreement on thcsejheacls, 
and I was also very anxious that, in the case of our party 
meeting with any accident, we should be able to calculate 
upon having Mr. Bruce’s co-operation m our rescue, when 
he came out a year later to the tiacts where we had our field 
of operations. Who could then have thought how near this 
agreement was to becoming realized, and that the two 
Expeditions should carry out work and investigations at 
stations which lay within a couple of degrees ol latitude of 
each other, thus making these investigations of especial 
interest for the determination of the meteorological conditions 
of those regions ? 

In company with Bruce I afterwards travelled to Falmouth, 
where I arrived on the morning of the 26th October, a lew 
hours after the Antarctic had anchored in the outer road¬ 
stead. The chief object of our calling here was to ship a 
supply of coal for the voyage. The cargo had at the same 
time to be re-stored, which gave us one or two more laborious 
days, and it could have been no agreeable sight which met 
the eyes of those who visited the ship just then, with the deck 
black and dirty, in consequence of the coal-dust; boxes, 
reserve rudders and all the bulky apparatus lying about topsy¬ 
turvy ; boards, planks, materials for the observatories, 
boats, and all possible kinds of goods piled upon each other 
up to the gallows-bitts ; sailors, coal-heavers, the scientific 
members themselves of the Expedition, in sooty work-clot lies, 
and, last of all, fourteen wild Greenland dogs, which howled 
and barked continually—all of these in combination gave 
most of our visitors the impression that we should need weeks 
to get in order for our departure ; but our start having already 
been delayed, it became of consequence not to lose unneces¬ 
sarily the least part ot that time which could be employed 
amid southern ice, and, thanks to our captain’s energy, we 
succeeded m getting away the next evening. 

Among those who visited us at the very last moment was 
Mr. Coats, the chief of the liberal promoters ol the Bruce 
Expedition, who had come into Falmouth with his yacht, 



FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA. 


7 


and as we steamed out on Sunday evening after dark, he 
called for a cheer for our party, to which we answered with 
vigorous “ hurrahs ”—and so the Antarctic glided out m 
earnest upon the ocean. 

At first we had still pretty much to do before we got all our 
cargo m order, but by degrees we fell into the monotony of 
ship-routine. A journey through tropical seas is all too 
much like similar voyages for me to dwell on it; a visit to 



Photo by] 


OWln, [O. Bodmak. 

We begin to feel the warmlh. 


St. Vincent afforded us a few hours’ relief amid the same¬ 
ness, which, however, did not feel at all oppressive, but, on 
the other hand, gave us a welcome opportunity of resting 
after the preceding days of toil. 

At length, on the afternoon of the 14th December, we again 
sighted land—the low sandy coast of Uruguay—and twenty- 
four hours later we met the yellow waters of the Rio de la 
Plata. The weather during the day had been very change¬ 
able ; sometimes with fresh head-winds, and then with heavy 



8 


ANTARCTICA. 


squalls irom every quarter. In tlie evening wc saw a mag¬ 
nificent picture, tlie sky being suddenly filled with piled-up 
cumulus clouds which flamed m all shades of yellow, brown, 
and bluish-grey; the air was traversed incessantly by light¬ 
ning which illuminated the vessel and its surroundings as 
though with the clearest daylight, and which flashed almost 
uninterruptedly along the horizon. 

We were up early the next morning in order to view the 
entrance to Buenos Ayres. The traffic on the river grew 
greater and greater, with boats plying in all directions ; before 
us lay a forest of masts, behind which rose houses and towers, 
and at eight o’clock we came to the outer roadstead, where 
we were met by our tug, which took us up a channel that 
has been made at a very great expense, and which communi¬ 
cates with the inner harbour, and in little more than an hour 
we reached the capital of the southern hemisphere, and 
shortly afterwards anchored in the outer basin, 

I had fixed upon Buenos Ayres as the place where we were 
to complete our supply of coals and provisions for the last 
time before leaving the civilized world behind us. There 
was much to do—for the captain and myself at least—and as 
our stay at the place must be as short as possible, there was 
little opportunity of enjoying our surroundings. And Buenos 
Ayres has very much to offer. Splendid modern streets and 
mansions, stately quarters filled with villas, magnificent 
parks with exuberant southern vegetation, public works of 
art—all these form the frame to a picture of wonderful ani¬ 
mation. There is a bewildering throng of people and vehicles, 
the latter including the electric trams which traverse the 
city in all directions, costly private equipages, the considerably 
less elegant cabs, and the numerous carts. At every step 
we take we mark that we have before us a city wherein great 
wealth is accumulated, and one can say with truth that more 
luxury is exhibited here than in a European city of corre¬ 
sponding size. But, m any case, it is with the most agreeable 
sensations that one mingles with the crowd in one of the main 
thoroughfares, and regards the whole of the elegant public 




' ,' r 
•••• t '- 

5 J&. - 


Photo hy] 


On the deck of the Antwctu under a tropica! sun, 


[G. Bodwax. 





10 


ANTARCTICA, 


which rolls slowly past in its equipages. And the ladies of 
Buenos Ayres are not only elegant, but, as regards personal 
charms, can challenge comparison with the iairest of any land. 
What, then, under these circumstances, should be our feelings, 
who were conscious every second that this was the last glimpse 
we should have for a long time of beauty and luxury and plea¬ 
sures, and that we were now about to renounce everything 



Photo by] ' [G. BODMAH. 

View ol harboiu at Buenos Ayres, 


which was not counted amongst the mere necessaries of life — 
and that in the strictest sense of the word. 

My first concern was to make acquaintance with a new 
member of the expedition who was to join us here. This was 
Mr F. W. Stokes, the artist, a son of the great North American 
Republic, and formerly a member of Peary’s wintering expe¬ 
dition, 1893-1894, and who was now, at his own expense, to 
take part in the voyage. It had long been a wish of mine 
that an artist should accompany us, and, therefore, when a 
man of Mr. Stokes great talents, and a specialist, too, in the 




FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA. u 

art of depicting the scenery of Polar regions, wrote to me and 
offered to come with us, I gladly accepted his offer, especially 
as there then seemed to be a possibility that his experience of 
Arctic winter-life would be of use to us, for it was at first his 
intention to remain with the wintering party—an intention 
which, as we shall afterwards see, was not realised. 



Lieutenant J. M. Sobral. 


It was'not without a special reason that I had chosen Buenos 
Ayres as our base of operations and point of final depaiture. 
The previous summer I had received a letter from the Director 
of the Argentine Observatory on Staaten Island, which was 
to co-operate with the three South Polar Expeditions, asking 
me if it was possible for a naval officer to accompany our party 
as the representative of the Argentine Government. I gladly 


12 


ANTARCTICA 


answered in the affirmative, just because it bi ought about the 
realization of one of my old dreams—that of being able to 
interest the nations of South America in, and to induce them 
to contribute m due proportion to, the exploration of South 
Polar regions At first I understood the application to mean 
that the Argentine officer should accompany that part of the 
Expedition which was to remain with the vessel, and now 
when I learned on my visit to the Minister lor the Navy in 
Buenos Ayres that it was the special wish ol the Government 
there that the officer m question should form one ol the wm- 
tering-paity, I grew a little doubtful in the matter, as I was 
fully sensible of the difficulties that could arise irom intro¬ 
ducing into onr circle one who was a perfect stranger, and one 
who had no previous knowledge of what a wintering amid 
Polar ice involved. Still, I was most unwilling to answer in 
the negative, and delayed my reply until I had seen the young 
officer, Sehor Jose M. Sobral, then sub-lieutcnanl in ihe 
Argentine Navy, who had been proposed to me by the Minister. 
Senor Sobral came on hoard the Antarctic early next morning, 
and he appeared so unaffected and affable, so interested in the 
question and so intrepid, that I cast all doubts to the winds 
and determined to run what risks there might be in accepting 
him, and the matter was definitely decided the very same day. 

In return for this compliance with its wishes, the Argentine 
Government promised to aid the Expedition by every means 
in its power. For the moment we were m want of nothing, 
but the whole world now knows m what a splendid way the 
country afterwards fulfilled its promise. 

On the 20th December we had finally finished the greater 
part of our work in Buenos Ayres. We had received several 
invitations for the last night of our stay, and for everyone of 
us who could possibly avail himself of this final opportunity of 
taking leave from all that a great city lias to offer. When I 
came on board with the captain early the next morning, the 
ship was just finishing coaling, and we at once began to settle 
all our accounts, m order that not an hour should be wasted. 
Scarcely had the last coal-heaver left the vessel than the 



FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA 


13 


engines weie started, and by 6 am. the Autarctic was once 
more on its way to the Polar ice, followed by the cheers of a 
crowd of people who were assembled on the quay m spite of 
the early hour We move through the narrow entrance to the 
harbour, move along the more than mile long, dredged-out 
harbour channel, and down the yellow waters of the mighty 
river on towards the ocean. 

The names of those who were now on board and who thus 
partook, 111 some degree at least, in the work of the Expedition, 
were as follows : 

N. Otto G. Nordensk]old, bom 1869, lecturer m geology at 
the University of Uppsala , leader of the Expedition. 

Carl Anton Laisen, captain of the Antarctic , born in Norway, 
i860. He had for many years commanded whalers in the 
Arctic Ocean, and, just before being engaged for this voyage, 
had charge of a whalmg-station in Finnmarken, Norway ; 
has gained Ins greatest reputation through his two voyages, 
combining whale and seal fishery with exploration, in South 
Polar waters, in the years 1891 and 1892. 

Axel Olilin, born 1867, since 1896 lecturer in zoology at 
the University of Lund. Mr. Ohlin, a well-gifted student and 
a comrade such as one rarely meets, had previously taken part 
in exploring expeditions to Greenland, Tierra del Fuego and 
Spitzbergen. He was unfortunately obliged to leave the 
present Expedition in 1902 on account of illness, and died in 
Sweden, 1903. 

S. A. Duse, born 1874, lieutenant (now captain) in the Norr- 
land Artilleiy, was the cartographer of the party. 

K. A. Andersson, B.A., born 1875, had charge, together with 
Mr. Ohlin, of the zoological work of the Expedition. 

Gosta Bodman, born 1875, had direction of the hydro¬ 
graphical and meteorological work on board of the Antarctic, 
and accompanied the Expedition for the special purpose of 
taking charge of the magnetic and meteorological observa¬ 
tions carried out at the wintering station. 

Eric Ekclof, born 1875, the medical officer of the Expedition 
and our bacteriologist. 



14 


ANTARCTICA 


Carl Skottsberg, B.A, born 1880, botanist. 

F. W. Stolces, North American, landscape painter, took part 
in Peary’s Greenland Expedition, 1893-94. 

Jose M. Sobral, born in the Argentine of Spanish parents ; 
sub-lieutenant (now lieutenant) m the Argentine navy ; assisted 
with the meteorological, magnetic, astronomical and hydio- 
graphical work. 

F. L. Andreassen, born 1858, first mate of the Antarctic. 

H. J. Haslum, born 1856, second mate. 

Anders Karlsen, born 1864, first engineer. 

George Karlsen, son o{ the above, born 1883, second engineei. 

Axel R. Reinholdz, born 1873, third mate. 

G F. Schonbaclc, born 1879, steward. 

The crew consisted of the following men : Anton Olsen 
Ula , boatswain; Ole Johisen Bjornerud, smith; Ola Jonassan, 
specially engaged in order to form, one of the wintering party; 
had previously accompanied the Stella Polari, on the Duke 
of Abruzzi’s Polar Expedition, and had then taken part 
in several sledge journeys ; Toralf Grunden, Ola Olanscu, 
Gnstaf Akerlimdh, Ole Christian Wennersgaafd, a promising 
young seaman, died during the wintering on Panlet Island, 
June 7th, 1903 , Axel Andersson, cook; Carl Johanson and 
Wilhelm, Holmbcrg, firemen. 

In addition to these, there were two seamen who sailed 
with the vessel from Sweden, and a ship’s-carpenter engaged 
in Buenos Ayres, who left the ship on her return after the 
first summer cruise. Thus our full strength on leaving Buenos 
Ayres was 29 in all. 

From this time forward we gradually began to direct our 
attention to the scientific work, which was the chief object 
of our journey. The weather on the way south was fine on 
the whole, with a steady wind from the north, which permitted 
us to make good progress, partly with the help of sail alone. 
The days passed as a rule quietly, Christmas alone making 
a little change in the monotony; the festive feeling which 
then prevailed carrying our thoughts back over the sea to 
all that we had left behind us in the North. 




Map showing the course of the Antarctic from Sweden to the South Polar regions. 











16 ANTARCTICA 

But when we left Buenos Ayres we had not therewith 
bade good-bye to the whole of the inhabited world. It was 
my determination to call at Staaten Island, off iierra del 
Fuego, in order to compare the magnetic instruments we 
carried with those m the Argentine observatory thoie In 
other respects, too, it was of the greatest interest and im¬ 
portance for us to put ourselves into communication with 
this station which, according to the plan for international 
co-operation in this work—of which plan our expedition 
formed an integral part—was to lorm the point d’appui for 
our meteorological and magnetic labours. In the mean¬ 
while, we had gradually begun to reflect on the advisability 
of calling at the Falkland Islands too, which lay quite near 
to our course. According to the plan just mentioned, these 
islands were to form the base of operations for the ship- 
expeditions, and Dr. John Gunnar Andersson was to join 
the Expedition there, but I had a special reason for wishing 
to put m now. We had had very bad luck with the Green¬ 
land dogs we had brought with us ; they had sickened very 
early and died, veiy many of them, during the voyage through 
the tropics, so that now we had only four left. Although 
there was not much probability that the sheep-dogs used 
in the Falklands would compensate for this loss, I was 
especially anxious to make a trial of their adaptability for 
such purposes as those for which we needed them, and as 
the weather was good and our expenditure of coal less than 
had been expected, I at last determined to make this little 
deviation from our route and proceed to the islands. 

At length the light outside Port Stanley was sighted on 
December 30th, and every one came up on deck early in the 
morning in order to look at the entrance to the place. It 
was magnificent weather, with a fresh breeze which seemed 
to us quite a cold one after our long voyage thiough warm 
regions. Penguins swarmed in the water, and here and 
there we saw sea-lions come swimming, and often following 
us for long distances. It was, in a word, a perfectly new world 
which surrounded us. The entrance itself is very beautiful 



FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA 


17 


and lies thiough two very narrow passages between long- 
sti etching peninsulas. The land is clothed with vegetation 
ot low giowth, without tree or bush, and of that peculiar 
yellow-green colour so unlike what is seen m our Swedish 
meadows, but which I so well remember from the treeless 



Photo 6.0 [E EI'.EIOF 

The Antatctic in Poit Stanley harbour. 


districts of the northern part of Tierra del Fuego. At six 
a m we cast anchor in Port Stanley, and after getting thiough 
with the necessary formalities we all went on shore to inspect 
our new surroundings more closely. First of all, Captain 
Larsen and inyself called on Mr. Grey-Wilson, the Governor 
of this isolated group of islands, who received us in a most 
courteous manner, after which I paid a visit to the man-of- 

2 





iS 


ANTARCTICA. 


war lying in the harbour, which had sent one oi its officers 
on board the Antarctic early m the morning, to offer us all 
the assistance of which we might stand m need. The rest 
of the day was spent m excursions and m the work of collecting 
dogs from which to make our choice, Some of us were 
invited to the Governor’s to dinner, which was followed 
by a pleasant evening, enlivened by music and conversation, 
It gave me a most peculiar feeling to know that this was 
the last occasion for a long, indefinite future that wo spent 
an evening in the way common in the civilized woild. We 
left about midnight, to find that the weather had changed, 
and we stood on the pier in drenching rain and a howling 
wind, waiting for someone to hear our signals and send off 
a boat from the Antarctic. When we at last came on board, 
we found a merry party there. All who had not been on shore 
had assembled in the gun-room in order to welcome m the 
new year—the new year of which we all hoped so much. 
Here, too, there was speech-making and singing and music, 
even if of a less pretentious kind than that we had just heard. 
I joined the circle for a short while, but soon returned to 
my cabin to write a few letters home and, under the influence 
of all the impressions which crowded upon me, to have such 
waking dreams as one seldom enjoys. 

New-Year’s Day, 1902, came with clear and beautiful 
weather, and we all went on shore early in order to be ready 
to start again during the course of the day. We hcaul at 
a distance sounds of howling and barking, which guided 
us to the place where a score of dogs had been assembled 
for inspection. Their owners had seized the opportunity 
and demanded pretty high prices ; at least, they could be 
considered high if one takes into consideration the fact that 
only such dogs were offered for sale as had shown themselves 
quite useless as sheep-dogs, and, as I had no great confidence 
in the suitability of any dogs of this race for my purpose, 

I took only four with me, and these were immediately sent 
on board the Antarctic. 

We had invited the Governor and his lady, the Swedish 




Bird-life on New Year Island (incubating and flying cormorants) 




20 


ANTARCTICA. 


Consul, and others belonging to society in Poit Ailliur, to 
come on boaid m the course of the forenoon and inspect the 
vessel, and it was now soon crowded with an interested 
throng of ladies and gentlemen. All of them tried in every 
imaginable way to show us every kindness in their power, 
wished us good fortune and success on the voyage, and 
it almost seemed as though they hesitated to leave us to 
our fate 

But eveiything has an end, and, in spite of all attempts 
at persuasion, we would not delay our departure one hour 
longer. Our guests went on shore and wc weighed anchor 
at 3.30 p.m., and recommenced our journey; but it soon 
appealed that we could well have stayed a little longer in 
the harbour, for a tremendous wind was blowing outside, 
a regular “ Cape Horner,” and it was first after lour days’ 
hard work, which made sad inroads on our small supply of 
coal, that we came on the night of January 6th to New 
Year Island, the little island just off Staaten Island where 
the Argentine observatory was in course of construction. 
The first thing that we discovered was that the variation- 
instrument of the station had not yet been erected, and that, 
therefore, no adjustment and comparison of instruments 
could be carried out, and we had to content ourselves with 
coming to an arrangement respecting the co-operation 111 the 
scientific work already mentioned, and also one respecting 
some voluntary, simultaneous observations which were to 
be taken in addition to those of the international programme. 
We also visited the magnificent meteorological observatory 
with its valuable apparatus; but as we could do nothing 
else we did not care to stay any longer, and after leaving 
our last letters and telegrams, wc were on our way to the 
shore again by eight o’clock. 

Several of our scientists, however, had seized the oppor¬ 
tunity of making studies and collections in the new and rich 
fields of nature which here surrounded us. The place possesses 
a rich animal-life; a memorial of the time when it was but 
rarely that a human being set his foot on the island. Out 



FROM SWEDEN TO ANTARCTICA. 21 

on the north-west point can be seen the breeding-place of 
innumerable cormorants who live there in company with a 
number of penguins. The air grows black with the crowds 
of the first-named birds on one approaching the spot and 
frightening them in any way. Among the rocks by the 
shoie there still live large herds of sea-lions , stately animals 
with their long manes and roaring cry. Some young ones 
had newly seen the light, which added to the interest of the 
visit, and one could view them without their exhibiting any 
special signs of fear. 

We give a last good-bye to the last inhabited spot, to the 
last people, besides ourselves, that we shall see for long months 
and years, and then turn our faces southward again. We 
sail along the coast whose bold, sharp peaks, here and there 
covered with snow, form one extremity of the longest of the 
mountain-chains of the world, which, beginning m this spot, 
runs through all the zones of the earth to end on the shores 
of the Northern Polar Sea. We double the last cape and 
then steer with a fresh breeze behind us, direct south, out 
into Drake’s Strait, as the broad fair-way which separates 
America from the Antarctic lands is somewhat incongruously 
called after its discoverer. 

It is a remarkable stretch of water, this boundary between 
two continents and between two oceans, and we should have 
very much liked to stay there awhile to make some scientific 
investigations, were it not that just on the track we now 
followed, the Belgica Expedition had made a series of soundings 
and carried out other hydrographical work, and under the 
circumstances we considered that time pressed too much for 
us to repeat these investigations. 

We can say that we were favoured with remarkably fine 
weather when we take into consideration the notorious repu¬ 
tation these tracts have, and even as late as the 8th January, 
in lat. 58° S. we had a most magnificent summer-day. But 
the next four-and-twenty hours brought quite different 
weather. The temperature of the water had not changed 
very much, being still about -f-3 0 C. (37 0 . 4° F.), but the air was 



ANTARCTICA. 


22 

cold and heavy, with a thick fog m the morning, and in the 
evening a few hakes of snow leminded us that our long road 
now lay behind us and that over the warm oceans winch 
girdle the earth we had come to regions where ice ancl 
snow are omnipotent, even amidst the warmest days ol 
summer 




CHAPTER II. 

OUR FIRST DAYS IN ANTARCTICA. 

The South Shetland Islands—Oui first meeting with penguins—The Oileans 
Channel—In unknown seas—We letmn eastwards. 

On the ioth January we had clear weather once more, and 
we all stood on deck looking eagerly lor the first glimpses 
ol the South Shetland Islands. At x.io p.m the long- 
expected cry ol “ Land ahead! ” was at length heard from 
the bridge, And, sure enough, a black break and a few 
dark shadows could be marked m the sharp light on the 
horizon to the southwards, this light itself afterwards proving 
to be the ice-blink from the snow-covered land. It was our 
first sight of King George’s Island, our first point of destination 
in the Antarctic regions. 

Ere we approached so near the land that any of its details 
could be distinguished, our attention was taken up by 
something else wlucli we also saw for the first time—the 
Antarctic 1 ' ice Yonder, on the green water there comes 
floating towards us a glittering white, four-cornered, flat 
mass of ice, an iceberg ; not one of the largest kind, it is true, 
but in our inexperienced eyes it appears overwhelmingly 
great. This sight, which, on any other occasion, might have 
led us to doing all manner of things, was not able, however, 
to enchain our eyesight very long at such a time as this. All 
our thoughts, all our attention, was dnected towards the 
colossal shining mass which slowly rose out of the ocean 



24 


ANTARCTICA-3 

before us, and soon filled the whole horizon It was the 
most wonderful picture my eyes have ever beheld. I have 
visited Greenland, 8° noith of the Polar Circle, but the 
difference between what one secs there and .the panoiama 
which here unfolds itself to the view, is greater than that 
which exists between that same Greenland landscape and one 
in Central Sweden Still, m Greenland, too, we find these 
extensive stretches of coast which in summer arc free from 
ice and, on a closer view, present a verdant and often luxmious 
vegetation. On a summer day one can lie there on the soft 
grass, amidst many-coloured flowers, and siurounded by the 
grazing herds of musk-oxen, and, if only one is protected 
fiom the attacks of the myriads of mosquitoes, the snow¬ 
capped tops m the back-ground need not hinder one’s being 
carried away m dreams to more southern climes. 

But how terrifically different is the landscape which here 
meets the view ! The whole of the large island forms a wild 
mountainous country with sharp peaks. Anywlieic at all 
in the Arctic regions the most striking contrasts and the most 
changing scenery would be visible, but here, everything is 
buried beneath snow and ice, ice which creeps from along 
the hill-crests and the lower valleys up to the highest points 
without leaving a single spot free from snow, and which grows 
and grows to an immense, continuous covering, so that the 
land stands out to the view as one glittering vault of ice. 
It is but in a few places—the most precipitous—that the dark 
rocks look through. And a most peculiar contrast to this 
unbroken mass of ice is formed by a few, small, snow-free 
rocky islets ; broken, pointed, bizarre of form. Towards the 
sea the land is bounded by a high, perpendicular, gleaming 
wall of ice, which, however, we notice first when we come 
nearer our destination. 

The overpowering feelings cannot be described which were 
awakened m me when this long-wished-for land thus suddenly 
rose before my view So rapid was the transition, from a 
vision of sea alone to this of ice-bound land, that my first 
impression necessarily was, that a loneliness and a wildness 




Before the storm Off Joinvrlle Island, on the etening of the 23rd February, 





OUR FIRST DAYS IN ANTARCTICA. 


25 


reigned here such as could, perhaps, be found nowhere else 
on earth ; I experienced the same feeling of helplessness 
as when one stands alone and deserted amidst mighty forces 
of Nairn e. Although the writer himself has never seen any¬ 
thing similar to what he now beheld, it is probable that far 
within the North Polar legions, to the north of Frans Josefs 
Land and elsewhere, there may be tracts resembling this; 
but if it be considered that we now stood before what was 
merely the most northern outpost of the whole of the Antarctic 
land-region, that wc were nearer the Equator than are such 
large towns as Trondhjcm and Sundsvall, and that we had 
already reached the height of the Austral summer, it will be 
easy to understand the entry m my journal that “ I had never 
expected to find so much ice and snow.” 

I have just compared the tracts where we now were with 
Greenland, but another comparison is nearer at hand. It 
was but four days previously, on the other side of Drake’s 
Strait, that our by no means swift ‘sailing vessel left behind 
it Tierra del Fuego with its impenetrable, evergreen forests, 
in which trees of an almost tropical type are to be found, 
and which are the dwelling-places of green parrots and small, 
gleaming humming-birds-—a land whose climate is such 
that the natives can live there in a state of almost perfect 
nudity. I imagine that scarcely anywhere upon earth does 
there exist a more rapid transition of climate, in the case 
of two neighbouring shores, than is to be found m the places 
in question—the “ land of fire ” and the waste which now 
lay before us, a desert of ice which seemed to banish every 
possibility of plant or animal life. 

After sighting the land a little more clearly, we swung 
round to the west, and steamed slowly past King George’s 
Island. Coming nearer to its coast we perceived that an 
occasional and narrow belt of shore stuck out from under the 
lofty wall of ice. Here and there we observe a few seals and 
a solitary colony of penguins, but otherwise the view is every¬ 
where the same, and the dark, rocky islets are the only objects 
which give variety to the picture. Our thoughts turn irre- 



2 6 


ANTARCTICA. 


sistibiy to the time when northern lands, and Scandinavia, 
too, were enveloped in a similar covering of ice. And lew 
questions are more interesting than those which give us 
an insight into that remarkable epoch of the history of the 
development of the earth. Here, down in the fiu thermos! 
south, can be seen a landscape which probably gives a cleai ei 
idea of the matter than can be had in the Arctic regions. 
As King George’s Island m our days, so has Norway, for 
example, been enshrouded in icc whose onward-moving mass 
polished and rounded the whole of the low-lying country; 
whilst the highest tops, although snow-clad, were still visible 
as to their contours. But farthest out m the encircling 
sea lay a number of islands and rocks, which even then lifted 
themselves m bold, sharp foims, like to high towers with 
pinnacles and projections. All these locks, such as Lovunden 
and Tranen in Nordland, and many others, so admired 
by tourists and which are regaided with special attention 
by men of science, on account of the difference which exists 
between them and the inner islands—these rocks have their 
counterparts m the snow-irec, rocky islets off the Anlaietic 
coast and they mark what was, for a long period at least, tin 1 
limits of the ice. 

We stood gathered on deck far into the night, our first 
Antarctic night, light and still, At two the next morning 
I was on the bridge again, just as we turned into the strail 
between Nelson Island and Robeit Island. There is, just 
here, a jutting headland on the former of the two, with a 
wide, snow-free shore where, with the aid of a glass, wc could 
distinguish seals and penguins. I determined to land on that 
point We dropped anchor outside a little bay, marked 
Harmony Cove on the chart, and, m company with Duse, 
Andersson, Bodman, Ekelof and Slcottsbcrg, I got into a 
Nordland boat and rowed into the little bay which seemed 
as though it would make a well-sheltered harbour for small 
vessels. We landed on an open, gravelly shore at the foot 
of a high mass of rock, and thus set foot for the first lime on 
Antarctic land. 




Oui fh&t landing in AntaicLica 









28 


ANTARCTICA. 


Although this land had presented itself to us the day 
before in the guise of a wilderness of ice, we now learned 
that it could also be swarming with life. The whole shore 
was covered with large seals whose peculiar appeal ance 
awakened a desire within us to make their neater acquaintance. 
They were grey-green m colour, with lighter spots and all 
belonged to the Weddell-seals (Lcptonychotcs Wcddclli ), 
those most commonly met with m this district. But 
there are, too, other forms of animal life which so entirely 
arrest our attention that we have no eyes for anything else 
—the penguins, these wonderful creatures; buds Hut cannot 
fly, but can swim quite as well as fish. I had myscll seen 
penguins many times before on the shores of Tierra del Tucgo 
and the Falkland Islands ; they are also found along the west 
coasts ol South America and Africa far 1o the north of tin 1 
tropic of Capricorn But in these places, one sees every¬ 
where nothing but dwarfed forms of the bird ; it is only here, 
m their rightful home amid the ice of the South Pole, that 
one learns to know, m their full development, these, the most 
peculiai representatives of the Antarctic animal-world. 


These strange creatures come to meet you far out in the 
water; no one, who has not seen them before, can say at 
a distance what kind of animal they arc. They come swimming 
in long rows, hundreds upon hundreds of them; one aftor 
another they fling their black, shining spool-shaped bodies 
out of the water, to dive down again the next minute and, 
like fishes, continue their journey under the surface. At 
the sight of these flocks of penguins our thoughts at once 
turn to the shoals of flying-fish which wc have so often beheld 
m the tropics ; that these are birds thus speeding onwards 
is the last thought that could come into our minds, if we 
1 not now and then see one or two of them swimming 
through the water with little more than their round, black 
heads ^sticking up over the surface. In a certain sense it 

Ca ^A£ Said ° f 1 the penguin that & forI ns a link between birds 
and/rshes and so far occupies the same position as that held 
by ttie_seal_amongst mammals. 



OUR FIRST DAYS IN ANTARCTICA 


29 


It is, however, upon land, where we now meet them, that 
penguins aie ol the greatest interest They live in laige 
colonies containing many thousand individuals so closely 
packed together, that one can scarcely distinguish a bare spot 
of ground, and can scarcely force a way between their nests. 
They do not appear especially interested in our appearance 
amongst them ; in lact, they are quite indifferent as long as 
they are not disturbed, but if we approach their nests, there 



Photo hi/] [&. BODirAN'. 

A Weddell seal (Leptonychotes Weddelli), 


arises a murmur and a cackling which threatens never to 
cease. Such a colony of birds lies here, stinking of the guano 
which covers the ground like a thick dough; and it is only 
alter much hesitation that we venture to penetrate the living 
mass, in every part of which we meet with the liveliest tokens 
of dissatisfaction. In every nest can be seen one, two, or 
more seldom, three, ruffled, dirty, down-clad young ones, 
resembling small, grey, shapeless balls of clay, and it is these 
young that the fathers and mothers defend with such stubborn- 




30 


ANTARCTICA 


ness against the new invaders, whom they probably regard as 
some hitherto unknown, gigantic relations. 

For, however strange it may seem to those who do not 
know these animals very well, the likeness between penguins 
and man is so striking that it cannot for a moment be un¬ 
marked by anyone who makes their acquaintance out in the 
open. Their appearance is m every respect remarkable. 
Imagine a little creature, quite erect, somewhat more than 
a foot m height, standing on two legs which support a body 
of almost equal thickness throughout its length, with a large', 
round head and provided with two nairow, shrunken wings 
which, when the bird moves about on land, can easily be 
taken for two arms with the hands drawn up into the wide 
sleeves The back is a shining black and ends in a long 
tail which bears a striking resemblance to the way in which 
an ordinary dress-suit finishes off. The breast is of a gleaming 
white, with a black band over the neck; the belly protrudes 
somewhat. The entire apparition forms the most comical 
caricature imaginable of a stout, elderly, elegant gentleman, 
in a dress-suit, with a white waistcoat and black tie, tripping 
about along the shore with something of a rolling gait, and 
with a mien which is at once a little conceited and very 
dignified. 

I shall not now detain the reader with any further account 
of the penguins, as they will be fully described later on in 
the book. It will suffice to say that it was difficult to tear 
ourselves away from this most peculiar company, but there 
was much else to be seen. Thus, for example, this was the 
first time that we learned to know that interesting Antarctic 
bird-world which loves especially to congregate in the 
neighbourhood of penguin colonies, and which, to a great 
extent, lives upon the offal to be found there. Here we have 
the little, impertinent Chionis, which resembles a snow- 
white pigeon, to which group of birds it bears some anatomical 
likeness, hut which lives upon meat and eggs, and is often 
seen sitting and pecking at the bodies of dead penguins. Then 
we have the Cape pigeons, although they do not breed here. 




Thousands of Cape pigeons follow Lbe boats onJ.heir letum fiorn Haimoa) Cove to the ship. 





32 


ANTARCTICA. 


The big, brown Megalestns, a bird resembling a gull, with a 
sharp beak, and talons like those of a bird ot prey, attracts 
special attention Large flocks of the last-named, bird gathered 
round the seals which we shot and skinned, and it was first 
when they came so near that we could strike at them with a 
stick, that they unwillingly withdrew, but they did so only to 
fly around our heads without showing the slightest sign of 
fear. The day was to come when these birds should become 
our domestic animals, so to say, and the chief aim of our 
shooting expeditions, but at the moment it would have been 
nearly an impossibility to imagine oneself eating the flesh of 
these most disagreeable creatures. 

After a while I went inland to study the geological pheno¬ 
mena and to examine the plant-life. The rock everywhere 
consisted of a green porphyry, reminding me of certain rocks 
m the coast-archipelago of Tierra del Fuego ; it can very 
well be of mesozoic age, although it is difficult to give any 
proof for this assertion. Unfortunately, all the specimens 
obtained on this island, like the remainder of the geological 
collections I made during our first summer here, were lost 
with the Antarctic, The rock forms precipitous, fissured 
crags, and it is upon these slopes that we find most of the 
representatives of the plant-life of the island, which is much 
richer than I have seen at any other of our landing-places, 
although we found merely green knolls of moss and a fairly 
luxuriant growth of lichens, while there was a total absence 
of grass or other phanerogamians 

The most interesting discovery we made that day was 
of a singular little seal that Captain Larsen met with at a 
great distance off along the shore. Captain Larsen drove 
the seal before him for a mile or two, as though it had 
been a domestic animal; the poor victim toiled along quite 
peaceably and, when the pace became too great, stopped 
and looked back despairingly upon its pursuer. On arriving 
at the boat the seal was killed and the skin taken for the 
purpose of being stuffed. No close examination has yet 
been made, but it seems to be a true fur-seal, which 



OUR FIRST DAYS IN ANTARCTICA. 33 

shows thai these animals are not yet exterminated in these 
regions. 

By breakfast-time we were all on board again, thousands of 
Cape pigeons following the boats on their return to the ship, 
and our course was now set southwards The wind soon 
freshened, and in the afternoon grew to a storm which lasted 
the whole night. When I came on deck the next morning it 
still blew hard, but we had made such good way that we were 
once more surrounded by new stretches of land. Astrolabe 



Photo by] 


[Nokoisnskjdi,1), 

Snow landscape m Louis Philippe Land 


Island had just been passed, and before us lay Louis Philippe 
Land, a genuine Antarctic landscape amid genuine Antarctic 
weather; it consists of a lofty, wild, Alp-hke chain of hills 
with isolated peaks, amongst which Mount d’Urville is 
especially prominent. To starboard lay a middling-sized 
island, succeeded, after a time, by one still larger. These 
two islands are in reality all that exists of Trinity Land, as 
they have long been called. I shall return in another chapter 
to this interesting historical-geographical question. 

We now found ourselves at the entrance to the Orleans 
Channel, as d’Urville called the broad gulf which he saw 

3 



34 


ANTARCTICA. 


between the mainland and Trinity Land I had determined 
on the examination ol tins gull as the first object ol our 
expedition. According to the idea expressed by Larsen, 
and which was later on adopted by the German gcographeis 
who have edited the cartographical material obtained on 
his voyage, this channel should go in a southerly direction, 
and divide Louis Philippe Land from Graham Land. Others 
had thought that it was only a little bay ; otheis, again, 
that it was a channel with a south-westerly course. The 
last-named view turned out alterwards to be the correct one. 

We were now sailing a sea across which none had hithcito 
voyaged The weather had changed as ii by magic ; it seemed 
as though the Antarctic world repented ol the inhospitable 
way in which it had received us on the preceding day, 01, 
maybe, it merely wished to entice us deeper into its intciior 
in order the more surely to annihilate us. At all events, 
we pressed onward, seized by that almost leverish eagerness 
which can only he felt by an explorer who stands upon the 
threshold of the great unknown. Everybody wished to sec ; 
every photographic apparatus was at work, and Stokes was 
incessantly occupied with his painting. The land rose in 
wild, lofty peaks, separated by broad and, as a rule, short 
glaciers, which in nearly every case united near the shore, 
forming an ice-foot out of which only a few rocky points 
projected. It was not merely that new pictures unfolded 
themselves to the view; it was a strange world, difficult 
to describe, so different was it to what I had seen before. 

On land we had been received by penguins ; here it was 
whales who gave us welcome. These giants of the deep 
could be seen swimming in hundreds around our vessel, ol 
which they probably entertained the same idea as the penguins 
had had of ourselves. According to the opinion ol authorities, 
all these whales belong to a species resembling, or identical 
with, the northern humpback whale {Megafttera). Had we had 
the time I should have liked to try our whaling equipments 
on one of them; in order, possibly, to have an opportunity 
of studying these animals a little more closely. On other 



OUR FIRST DAYS IN ANTARCTICA. 35 

occasions, however, we saw in this region numerous examples 
of the blue whale and the finback whale. 

Everything around us grew still as the night came on, 
and the majestical, snow-clad landscape which extended 
itself on both sides shimmered in the pale midnight light 
of the Antarctic summer-night It was not only that we 
found 0111 selves in a sea never before visited by man, but now 
the feeling grew upon us more and more that we absolutely 
did not know where we were; that even now we ought to reach 



Photo by] 


Scenery in Geilache Channel. 


[E Ensure. 


tracts where, at least, some landmark could be identified. 
We had long ago seen that we should not reach the Atlantic 
with the south-westerly course we now held, and in reality 
it soon grew clear that Louis Philippe Land must he continuous 
with Banco Land. Thus it may be said that we had already 
attained the most important geographical result gained during 
the whole of the expedition. But whither did this channel 
lead ? Could it he to somewhere within the channel discovered 
by the Belgian expedition ? Did it come to an end, perhaps, 
even before reaching the beginning of this sound, or was 

3* 




ANTARCTICA. 


36 

our sound itself the beginning oi the Gcrlachc Channel ? 
These were questions which the morrow ought to solve. 

It was first after midnight that I went below, and at ,1.30 
am. I was on deck again. Duse still stood on the budge, 
drawing and measuring; he had not slept at all duiing the 
night. We had kept the same course the whole time, and 
we still found ourselves in the same long, continuous channel, 
with island after island to starboard. It was impossible 
.to determine where we were, but one thing was certain, and 
that was, that either we had come into a sound which ran 
parallel to the Geilaclie Channel, or that, in some mystei 1011s 
way, we had, without noticing it, managed to come into that 
channel itself. The point was to decide how tile mat Lei 
really stood, and I went below after Dr. Cook’s description 
of the Belgian Expedition in order to see if the dosaiptinu 
agreed with what we now saw. First of all, f compare a 
peculiar cone-shaped mountain-top with his picture oi Mount 
Alio, but the resemblance is not complete. Then I turn Lo 
his illustrations of Cape Murray and Biialmont Bay. I am 
at once astonished at the resemblance to a dark, projecting 
cape to port, and become convinced that it is in the Gerlache, 
Channel, or, as it was pieviously called, the Belgica S trail, 
that we now find ourselves. 

I at once communicated my surmises to Duse, and, although 
he could not make them agree with the chart drawn up by 
the Belgian Expedition, he adopted my views for the time 
being. It is of especial interest for one who is somewhat 
habituated to finding his way amongst mountains, or in the 
Polar regions, to carefully note the patches of snow ob¬ 
servable upon mountain-slopes and which usually rc-assumc 
their peculiar forms year after year and keep them the whole 
summer through. It is scarcely imaginable that a combina¬ 
tion of precisely similar patches of snow can be found in 
two different places, and ]ust as a criminal is identified by 
the print of the fine lines of the thumb, so, by means of the 
patches of snow, do we recognise one amongst thousands of 
mountain-tops 



OUR FIRST DAYS IN ANTARCTICA 


37 


Cape Murray I had identified, and the chiel features of oui 
sui roundings seemed to agiee, too, with the Belgian cliai t, 
but we got no further. AH the scientific members of the 
expedition had, by degiees, again assembled on deck, and 
tlieie was a general and eager discussion as to our whereabouts. 
It was determined to continue our comse m the hope of being 
able to identify some othei points further on. At first this 
went very well , Charlotte Bay was something like the drawing 



P/lOlO l)lj\ [NOItPENSKJOLD 

Cape RoqucnranreJ 


on the chart, but then we turned into Wilhelmina Bay, and here 
I grew doubtful myself, for now it became impossible to discover 
our whereabouts with any degree of surety by the aid of the 
map 

We pursued our course towards Cape Anna, and thence 
across the sound to Cape Ryswyclc, with Schollaert Sound m 
front of us. The general question on board still was . “ Are 
we m the Belgica Strait or not ? ” Duse, who had pre¬ 
viously been persuaded that we were, now began to think it 
strange, however, that the chart should present such great 



ANTARCTICA. 


33 

differences to what we saw around us. A great temptation 
arose to make a thorough investigation m order to obtain 
some decisive proof of the matter, but time picssed, and we 
had, moreover, come iarthcr to the south-west than I intended. 
My view of the case was this : on the one side there were 
these differences in detail from the prcliminaiy Belgian chart 
—differences which, it is true, seemed in the northern entrance 
somewhat difficult of explanation, but, still, which arc so usual 
m the drawing of sketch-charts by exploring expeditions, whose 
chief aim is not, of course, the mapping-out of places ; on the 
other hand, there was the agreement m the general features ; 
the impossibility of imagining a sound so large and bioad 
as this one was, and having several transverse channels, as 
lying to the east of the Belgica Strait without having been 
observed by the Belgian Expedition ; and, above all, the 
identically similar patches of snow on Cape Murray. Under 
such circumstances, it seemed to me scarcely possible to enter¬ 
tain any serious doubts in the matter. And the cpiestion 
would, too, be fully solved the following summer, when wo 
intended to chart the region in detail. I therefore gave orders 
to turn the ship towards our real held of labour on the east 
coast of the land. 

It is true that I myself never returned to these regions, but 
we shall hear, in a later part of this work, of the second visit 
of the Antarctic, when the theory I have mentioned above 
was confirmed, and the Gerlache Channel was really found 
to be nothing but a continuation of d’Urville’s Orleans 
Channel. The natural peculiarities of the region were then 
more closely investigated by means of numerous visits to the 
land, by soundings and by dredgings, and we must not now 
anticipate the course of events, but reserve for later pages 
the more detailed description of this tract. 

Never shall I forget the feeling which prevailed on board 
during these two days, and, I may even add, during the two 
which followed. It was one of feverish eagerness, evoked by 
our voyaging amidst unknown surroundings where none knew 
what surprises the next minute might “produce. There was 




Datico Land, near Wilhelmina Ba> 





40 


ANTARCTICA. 


in the air a feeling of something great, which everyday life 
cannot present us ; we felt how both the will and the ability 
to work grew within us , and, under such circumstances, it is 
not easy to give the order to change the course. How eagerly 
I wished that we had come here but a few weeks earlier, and 
had had the opportunity of beginning our expedition by a 
systematic exploration oi this magnificent legion! 11 is true 
that this examination has since been made, but much would 
have turned out otherwise 'it it could have been carried out 
then. I thought, howevei, ol Gcrlaclie, who also wished 
horn the beginning to work upon the cast coast, hut who, 
attracted and seduced by the bewitching scenery oi tins very 
same channel wluthci we had ourselves coine in seeking lor a 
passage to the east, had been punished by nnpi isonmont 
throughout a long and dreary winter in the fettering ice. No ; 
we must not give way to the temptation, for it was moio Ilian 
doubtiul if I should have tune to cairy out what I was come, 
to do 

Our journey was thus now back over the com so we had 
just pursued, and, consequently, we were given the oppor¬ 
tunity of reposing for a while, and, in the interval of compara¬ 
tive calm, of planning new work for the. future. The next 
morning came with the same glorious sunshine, and at noon 
we went on shore for the thud time, at Cape Roqucmaurel, 
as d’Urville calls the eastern point at the entrance to the 
Orleans Channel. Cape Roqucmaurel is a prominent mass ol 
rock, partly'free from snow, of a jagged, biokcn suifacc, but 
without any sharp points. It sheltered within it a Veritable 
little harbour, like a sea-filled ravine, where our boats could 
put in. We landed on a low rocky shore dotted with small 
isolated pools, filled with sea-water and covered with a close- 
grown carpet of seaweeds which awakened the delight of our 
botanist. The slippery rocks Were treacherous ; Stokes fell 
and damaged a finger, which hindered him a great deal for 
some time m his artistic work. On the inland side of the 
shore lie a few seals sunning themselves ; one ol them is 
almost silver-white m colour, probably belonging to the crab- 




Mount BiansfieJd fiorn the north 


42 


ANTARCTICA. 


eating species ( Lobodon ). They are allowed, however, to 
remain m peace, safe on this occasion from all attacks from 
our side 

The rock m here is a grey granite of somewhat peculiar 
appearance, and is intersected by a number oi veins of a daik 
eruptive rock, showing close lateral bands and containing 
numerous fragments of granite. The same tight-coloured 
rock is visible m several of the surrounding heights, but, as a 
rule, the projecting masses of rock in this pari of the channel 
consist of a darker kind, whose nature 1 could not then 
determine. 

The journey was now continued along the coast of Louis 
Philippe Land, amidst a whole archipelago of rocky islets 
and submerged reefs, which taxed the attention of the captain 
m the highest degree. The land here lies considerably lowei, 
and, as usual, the icy covering becomes, in consequence, still 
more continuous, and in some places it would probably be 
pretty easy to traverse the ridges of land in sledges. At all 
events, there is here an interesting field for future exploration ; 
the unexpectedly rich results gained a year later at our winter¬ 
ing-station at Hope Bay make this region still more enticing. 

The evening of this day, too, was wonderfully beautiful, 
the sunset especially so, with its violet-blue tints upon the 
white surface of the snow and their strong reflection from the 
snowy hills. The night was cold and clear, and only to the 
east could a light mist be seen above the peaks of Tomville 
Island. 




The icebeig still shone m the leflectio l of the last sun-rajs Si-. Iney lleibeit Bty ; h p m , loth Febrniu), igo2 







43 


CHAPTER III. 

OUR WORK ON THE EAST COAST. 

Om insi .lc^iMinUincc with the futuie winteimg stations—Oil the way soiithwnds— 
The ice compels us to return. 

OUR first task was now 
completed ; we had 
followed the coast of 
Louis Philippe Land 
in. a westerly direction 
in order to search for 
an intersecting chan¬ 
nel, and had proved 
that none such existed 
—none at least winch 
was navigable. We 
were now ready for 
our next step. Where we found ourselves, d’Urville had 
already seen a sound from the northwards, hut what its 
character was, was quite unknown. The uncertainty in this 
respect was easily removed. By lour o’clock in the morning 
of January 15th I was on the bridge again; the sound lay 
clear before us with a large island in the middle, just as 
d’Urville has drawn it. The sun rose clear and brilliant, illu¬ 
minating the white landscape which surrounded us. That 
part of Joinville Island is low and covered with ice, but, on 
the mainland, Mount Bransfield lifts its commanding, beau¬ 
tifully-rounded cone high above the surrounding country. 
The water we sailed through was almost free from ice, and no 




44 


ANTARCTICA. 


difficulties opposed themselves to our course. This we con¬ 
sidered to be such a very natural state of things that we 
thought we had no great reason to be thankful lor it, but we 
afterwards learned that conditions were not always so favour¬ 
able. I : 


Soon after 6 a.m. we passed a place which attracted my 
special attention. As this spot afterwards became one of the 
best known m the history ol Polar exploration, and as it will 
certainly he heard of again in the future, I shall quote, litotally 
what I wrote about it in my diary : “ It is a spot ol special 
beauty, very suitable loi a wmtcnng-station , 1 called it pio- 
visionally, ' Depth Glacier, 1 as 1 pointed it out specially to 
Duse and Lai sen, m the event of my afterwards determining 
that a depot should be established here after I had left the 
vessel. You see a magnificent and extensive valley, amplii- 
theatncal m form, and with precipitous sides, but one’s ini crest 
is chiefly attracted to an especially well-individualized glac.ici 
possessing a couple of beautiful lateral moraines, the only ones 
I have yet seen in these regions. In conclusion, I ought to 
mention the broad snow-free foreshore I do not know what 
the rock is; it can be sedimentary, but it is pcihaps of a 
basaltic or eruptive cbaiacter.” 


It was on this very spot which I now both photographed 
and sketched, and which I pointed out to Duse as a likely 
place for a depot, that a depot was really established, before 
the year was out, by John Gunnar Andersson, Duse and 
Grunden, before they started on their sledge-journey to our 
station. It was here that these three afterwards spent a long 
dreary winter, amid storms and cold, shut up in a little hut, 
where there was scarcely room lor them all upon the rubble- 
stones that composed the floor, after having, week alter week, 
climbed up these very heights to look for the vessel on which 
we now so proudly sailed past the place. Under the most 
un avourable conditions, and with an uncertain future before 
them, these men here made scientific discoveries which give 
us spot a greater interest, if possible, than that which it will 
acquire by the narrative of their adventures. And thus it IS 




In the Antarctic Sound, near the Argentine Islands. 





46 


ANTARCTICA 


that the name it now bears, Hope Bay, is the most significant 
one it could have been given. 

There was a sound here, too, but that was almost the only 
likeness the place had with older charts. I recognised the 
large island in front of us as d’Urville’s Rosamcl Island, but 
there is another one besides, farther to the east, which is still 
more prominent, and the question arises, why is that not 
marked upon the map ? The observations made from the 
vessel during the following summer make it seem probable 
that it is this one which corresponds to Rosamel Island, and, 
although the real facts of the case can probably never be 
ascertained, I have let it keep that name. The island lust 
mentioned pioved, on our approaching nearer, to he divided 
into two* by a sound. Tlic large island to the north ol 
Joinville Island (the existence of which was fully proved only 
later on, however) I have called d’Urville Island, after the 
celebrated French explorer, who must be esteemed the real 
discoverer of the whole of this coast. 

It is true that the channel itself had not been discovered by 
us, but we were the first who had sailed through it, and thus, 
it may he said, opened it for navigation. I acknowledge that, 
at present, there exists no very great traffic in these parts, 
but still it is certain that, during the course of time, many 
vessels will pass through this sound, and it was thcrclorc 
with a full consciousness of the legitimacy of the claim that 
I named it after the vessel whose bows first ploughed through 
its billows—after that same Antarctic which did so much 
good service in the work of Polar exploration, and which was 
a dear home to us amid the ice till she at length disappeared 
for ever beneath the waves. 

It was manifest that the chart was as incorrect as it possibly 
could be. We see how the coast-line of Louis Philippe Land 
turns sharply to the west where there would appear to be a very 
deep bay. Had we steered our course thither, the Crown 
Prince Gustaf Channel would, possibly, have been dis- 


* Afterwcuds called Ifizar Island and Uruguay Island. 




A cape on Lewis Philippe Land, south of Hope Bay. 




ANTARCTICA. 


48 

covered then, but we followed instead the south coast of 
Dundee Island towards Paulct Island. The latter rises higher 
and higher from amid the waves, its precipitous sides recalling 
Rosamel Island and others of the same type. About lour in 
the afternoon we doubled the island ; on its eastern side there 
exists a deep bight, separated from the sea by a low gravelly 
shore, towards which the clifls fall in comparatively gentle 
declivities. It was here we determined to go ashore. 

The doctor put out his canoe, and the other scientific 
members of the expedition used the Nordland boat, but as 
we had observed seals along the shore, some of the moil were 
sent ashore m two boats to try their luck in shooting. Duimg 
the last few days we had not met many traces of Antarctic 
animal-life, but here it giectcd us m a richness ol which we 
could nevei even have dreamed. Far out in the water wei c seen 
whole flocks of penguins ; thousands of birds, swimming with 
that peculiar movement already desciibed. But it was liist 
after we had, with some difficulty, succeeded in landing, that wo 
really got an idea of the life which existed here. II was un¬ 
doubtedly the largest penguin-colony I have, ever seen, liven 
down upon the shore we were met by thousands ol the animals ; 
some newly come out ol the sea, others assembled in groups 
and looking at the surl before committing themselves to the 
plunge into the water At last there is one ol them, a leader 
perhaps, who sets a good example, and, with flapping wings, 
glides through the narrow stiip ol shallow water near the 
strand to disappear beneath the surface farther out, and in 
an instant he is followed by the whole crowd. 

High up on the crowning ridge of the shore, where the 
water cannot reach even in storms, begins the dwelling-place 
of the colony, and it extends on every side as far as the eye 
can reach, and far up upon the slopes of the mountain. It is, 
in truth, remarkable that these animals, which appear to be 
rather clumsy in their movements on land, do not choose other 
breeding-places than those which lie so far from the shore. It 
almost extorts compassion to see them compelled to such toil 
each time that they betake themselves to and fro from the 




"We were surrounded by thousands of penguins when we began oui woik on the shoie 



5 o ANTARCTICA. 

water to their young ones high up on the steep walls of the 
cliffs. 

It is, however, more unpleasant, perhaps, for a person who 
wishes to examine their nests, or who, for some other reason, 
has occasion to pass by the large penguin-colony upon the 
plain. Even before reaching the spot, one is met by the sen¬ 
tinel birds, who do not for a moment hesitate to attack the 
curious. The species which exists here is different to the one 
living on the Shetland Islands, this latter (Pygoscclis Ad dice) 
being a form which occurs exclusively m the. immediate neigh¬ 
bourhood of the Antarctic ice ; the species in question is 
somewhat smaller than the allied one, papua, and is, more¬ 
over, distinguished from the latter by its fierceness and its 
courage One suddenly sees a penguin come running forward 
with its liead-feathers erected, and shrieking, “ lea 1 lea ! ka ! ” ; 
it pecks violently and strikes heavy blows with its powerful 
wings. It is easy to defend oneself against individuals, but 
when one has reached the main body it becomes another 
story. The war-cry is repeated from hundreds of throats ; 
at each footstep one comes within striking distance of a crowd 
of beaks, which aim sharp blows at the invader. It is with 
difficulty one can avoid treading on the young ones, or in the 
middle of a nest, and, ere many steps have been taken, one is 
fatigued by this unfriendly reception. You try to run, and 
thereby increase the difficulty of the situation. At each step 
the filth splashes up over one’s knees ; the blows become more 
numerous, and, in a few moments, all attempts at investiga¬ 
tion are given up, and a despairing rush is made to escape 
from the crowd and the deafening noise, by the nearest pos¬ 
sible road. 

I kept at a respectful distance from the penguins as long as 
I could, and wandered along the shore studying the rock for¬ 
mation. The island consists exclusively of olivenitc-basalt, 
which is found here, however, in many different varieties, In 
the bight just mentioned there lies a little circle-shaped lake, 
which at the time of our visit was still partially frozen, and 
which formed a favourite resort for crowds of penguins, 



OUR WORK ON THE EAST COAST 


5i 


Along its shores I found numerous fragments of lava and 
volcanic bombs with vitreous sm faces. There can, then, be 
scarcely any doubt but that this lake occupies the bed of an 
ancient crater, and that the island consists of an extinct vol¬ 
cano. I walked round the little lake, making my observa¬ 
tions, and keeping company with the penguins who were on 
the blocks of ice chatting together in the dusk, and were 
probably recounting among the incidents of the day the 



Photo by] [NQUDENSKKILD 

The penguins have an hour’s conversation in the dusk out on the ice 


arrival of the beings whose acquaintance it had been their 
good fortune never to make before. 

Richly loaded with spoils and the results of our observa¬ 
tions we returned to our vessel about midnight. We took 
with us young ones and older examples of all the species of 
birds which were obtainable, Bodman and Sobral had, m 
addition, made a series of magnetic determinations. The 
men on board had been by no means idle. Two dredgings 
had been made, the one at a depth of from 50-100 metres, the 
other at about 150 metres. The bottom seemed to fall very 

4* 



ANTARCTICA. 


52 

precipitously and to a considerable depth. The zoologists had 
previously been much disappointed that no opportunity lor 
dredging had yet presented itself, although lour days had 
already been spent witlim Antarctic regions Now they were 
so much the more contented, for no one had expected such a 
wonderfully rich result. The trawling-nct came up almost 
tilled, so to speak, with one living mass. It was not alone the 
number of the individuals and the species which attracted 
attention, but also their size and peculiar appearance. 

It was with pleasant recollections of the place that we leit 
Paulet Island behind us, and it was with pride that I looked 
hack upon the work ol the last lew days. In this short time 
we had solved the most important geographical pioblem in 
that region , we had made large and valuable botanical and 
geological collections ; wc had, it can be truly said, discovered 
he extraordinarily uch animal world which lives here in the sea. 

The changes brought about by fate arc marvellous. 1 had 
that very same morning poitrayed in my sketch-book that 
place, hitlicito unseen by mortal eye, which was to be the 
wintering-station of one of our parties ; when I returned to 
Paulet Island 22 months later (November nth, icjoj), il was 
on board of a strange vessel, and in order to biing oil a number 
of my companions who had here spent long months of loneli¬ 
ness and uncertainty. These penguins and seals, now regarded 
more as scientific curiosities, had rendered it possible for these 
men to sustain themselves during the whole winter, and every 
seal-slan they procured signified for them another oppor¬ 
tunity of eating waim meat for a few days more. This newly- 
discovered nch sea-fauna acquired in their eyes a practical 
interest, and the one little fish we had brought up with the 
trawl was succeeded by more than 10,000 examples which, 
during the winter, formed the only variation in their diet of 
penguin and seal-meat. The little lake, whose waters now 
seemed to me to be slimy and green, gave them potable water 
throughout the cold season, and saved them the necessity of 
using valuable fuel in order to melt ice. And now our steering 
from Paulet Island to Cape Seymour was synonymous with 




Crater-Lalce, Paulel Island, 




ANTARCTICA 


54 

journeying almost directly to the place wlicic I myself was 
to spend two laborious years. 

Roth of the future wintering-places were visible in clear 
weather from the heights above our station on Snow Hill 
Island. During the second year I was often to cast longing 
glances towards them, while wondering if some short com¬ 
munications to us might not be lying there; but in my boldest 
flights of imagination I never supposed that, during that long 
winter, each of them had been the dwelling-place of a division 
of our expedition, 

Our course, then, was now to be southwards, across Erebus 
and Tenor Gulf, that great bay which Sir James Ross called 
after his vessels. We had hitherto not seen much oi the 
Antarctic ocean-ice, but now it could be marked that we woi e 
approaching it Here and there lay immense ieebcigs, some 
afloat, others aground, and even at a distance we eoukl dis¬ 
tinguish a line of pack-ice off Seymour Island. On the morning 
of the 16th November we were off the northern point of that 
island, and we forced our way through the sparsely-spread 
fragments of ice to the middle of the island, up to the head¬ 
land where, in accordance with our agreement with Bruce, we 
were to erect a cairn and signal-post and enclose infonnalion 
respecting our future plans. 

Seymour Island is one of the most remarkable places m the 
Antarctic legions. It was discovered by Ross, who could not, 
however, determine if it formed one island or not. According 
to observations made from the vessel he came to the conclusion 
that the island consisted of volcanic lava of more recent date. 
The first one who ever landed here was Larsen, oil December 
2nd, 1892, and again on November 18th, 1893. He carried 
home a number of fossils consisting of petrified wood and 
mollusca. the first ever met with annd Antarctic ice. I had 
from the beginning thought of this island as one of our chief 
centres of exploration, just on account of the great geological 
interest which attached to the place, and it was my serious 
intention to make it our wintering-station, in the event of our 
not being able to find any more suitable place farther to the 




The outposts of the ice. 





ANTARCTICA 


56 

south. 1 had, in any case, determined to leave a good depot 
here, which could be ol use to us should we be compelled to 
retreat to the place irom a more southern station, and thus 
it can be imagined what great importance I attached to a 
landing on this island. 

Owing to the condition of the ice it was not before the next 
morning that we were able to carry our plan into execution. 
Two boats then put oft, containing amongst other things a 
pole of about tom metres in length, which we endeavoured to 
make as visible as possible by means of a streamer, a little 
paint and a few bits of wood nailed fast to the pole , we also 
took ashoie 75 kgs. dog-biscuit, 50 kgs. shelled barley, 20 
kgs. margarine, 10 kgs. sugar, 10 kgs. salt, 12 kgs. diied pota¬ 
toes, 12 kgs. dried vegetables, 1 box of so-called “ bout- 
journey ” provisions, some dried and potted meats, a little 
tea, coffee, chocolate and tobacco, about 30 lities petroleum, 
matches and spirits for cooking purposes, lasts, pegs for 
boots, and shoe-soles, an iron bar and a number of small 
boards, a few yards of sail canvas and 150 gun cartridges. 

We landed without meeting with any adventures and carried 
our things up on shore. The landing-place was on the southern 
side of a fairly well-marked bay, the same that I afterwards 
called Penguin Bay, on account of the large penguin colony 
there, a colony which, apart from the importance it after¬ 
wards acquired as one of our chief souices of food during 
the following winter, is also interesting from the iact that it 
was the most southerly we met with on that coast during the 
course of our expedition. I shall afterwards often have reason 
to speak of this colony, which, for the moment, as we had just 
come from Paulet Island, appeared to us to be very inconsid¬ 
erable in size. However, I did not pay much attention to 
the penguins just then, but hastened to employ the short time 
we were to spend ashore on an expedition inland. It was the 
very first occasion that a geologist had had an opportunity of 
collecting Antarctic fossils, and I was bent to the highest point 
of expectation. But, as often happens in such cases, my 
hopes were thoroughly disappointed. It is true that there 



OUR WORK ON THE EAST COAST 


57 


were a lew fossils consisting of some badly-preserved im¬ 
pressions of mollusca, and numerous large petrified tree-trunks, 
but nothing of great worth, nothing essentially newer than 
that which had been already brought home by Larsen. It 
was not possible for me to know then that just that part of 
the island was the very poorest m this respect, and that I 
could have obtained quite a different result had I gone a 
kilometre farther in any direciion. Most undoubtedly the 
impressions I gained during that landing were decisive of my 



photo by] 


Penguin Bay, Seymour Island. 


[jB. EKEMF 


determination not to make Seymour Island our wintering- 
station. 

On our noticing that the ice began to close in, and that the 
vessel drew farther off from the land, we hastened to go on 
board as soon as possible. On my reaching the shore, the pole 
was already erected and the letter enclosed in a well-corked 
bottle. Our depot, consisting of one large and several small 
boxes covered with a tarpaulin and sheltered from storms by 
means of a number of blocks of stone laid on top, had its place 
on the slope m the midst of the colony of penguins. 




ANTARCTICA. 


£3 

Our next task was to attempt to establish another depot, 
either on Christensen Island or at Cape Framnas, and not 
before we had that well off our hands could we plunge deeper 
into the Great Unknown. We had even now reached the most 
southerly point ever attained here by man, with the exception of 
Larsen, during his well-known voyage of 1893. Ross had been 
compelled, after several weeks’ fruitless labour, to turn back 
just south of Snow Hill Land. It could be said that up to the 
present wc had not met with any very difficult ice, but, on the 
other hand, neither were our prospects very favourable. We 
steamed and sailed southwards in the midst of ever-thickening 
mists, between mighty icebergs, which were almost ghastly in 
appearance when their giant-like, precipitous, blue-white 
masses suddenly revealed themselves close to the sides of 11m 
vessel. But, otherwise, we did not meet with much ice before 
the next forenoon, when we penetrated a broad belt oi dis¬ 
persed drift-ice, after which we came into an almost open sea 
again In spite of the bad weather we succeeded in making 
a pretty accurate observation, and found that we were in 
lat. 65 ° 18 ' S. and long. 57 0 30' W. It is true, we could sec 
nothing of the land, but as long as the passage was as free as 
it was here, we had no wish to delay our progress. In the 
afternoon, however, we took a series of sea-temperaturcs and 
some soundings down to 300 metres’ depth (163 fatli.) without 
finding bottom. Towards evening the ice, which consisted 
partly of immense mile-long ice-floes, began to close in, so that 
wc found ourselves obliged to haul off a little more from the 
land. I had by no means given up hopes of success in our 
endeavours, not only to land again, but also in some way 1o 
find a passage southwards, for we had hitherto enjoyed the 
best of good fortune, and, therefore, it was not strange that 
our dreams of the future should be somewhat aspiring. 

It was, then, a hard blow when the second mate came to my 
cabin by the captain’s order the next morning at lour, and 
roused me in order to beg me to come on deck and look at the 
condition of the ice, “ before our being obliged to turn.” I 
was on deck m a minute or two and went up to the captain in 



OUR WORK ON THE EAST COAST. 59 

the crow’s nest at the top of the mainmast, and saw that, in fact, 
there was not the slightest hope of penetrating farther south¬ 
wards at this point. The ice to the south and south-east lay 
as closely packed as if it had not yet been broken up ; to the 
west we saw in onr immediate neighbourhood a perpendicular 
barriei of ice, the height ol which I calculated as being some 
40 metres (130 feet), amhwhich stretched as far as the eye could 



Photo by} Breloe 

Cairn and signal-pcfct on Seymour Island 


reach to the north and south Even up here m the crow’s nest 
it was only with difficulty that above this barrier we could 
distinguish the rising tops of snow-free land lying at a distance 
of several Swedish miles.* 

It would be difficult to discover a scene more magnificent 
than that presented by this mighty wall of ice, with its simple 


* 1 Swedish mile = English miles.— Trans. 





6c 


ANTARCTICA. 


lines and. its uniform, blue-white tint, a scene broken but by 
sky, sea and driit-ice. It is only in Antarctic regions that the 
opportunity is given lor seeing such pictures on so vast a scale, 
but there these ice-barriers are a characteristic feature found 
nearly everywhere on approaching the land on, or south of, 
the Antarctic circle. But nothing had been hitherto known 
with certainty as to the occurrence in these pails of West 
Antarctica of such an immense terrace of ice preventing com¬ 
munication with the land. The scene was, theiefore, a new 
object of great interest ; but at the tunc the mipiession of the 
moment became too powerful, and all scientific interests were 
left unnoticed, all feelings of the beauty of the scenery were 
stifled. For it grew clear to me that the chief aim of the ex¬ 
pedition, my intention to penetrate to unknown regions along 
the coast of King Oscai’s Land, was utterly annihilated by 
powers of nature against which it would be h uitless to combat. 
Had it been earlier in the summer, one might have ventured 
to hope that the ice would be gradually dispeised. But now 
it was useless to wait, and even had the ice later on possibly 
permitted of our penetrating somewhat more to the south, it 
would, in any case, have been too late to allow of our cairying 
out any very extensive work m that region. 

We lay there in that place—the most southerly wc reached— 
for two hours, to give me the opportunity of carefully weighing 
all possibilities, and then, at 6 a.m., I gave orders lo turn the 
ship about. Our position at that moment cannot be given 
with perfect exactness, but, according lo our reckoning, 
we must have penetrated, at the most, to ro to 15 minutes 
south of the 66th degree of latitude. 

It was no easy matter to change at once all our plans for flic 
summer’s work. But it was clear to me that, before doing 
anything else, the tract lying between the spot where we were 
obliged to turn and Seymour Island should be carefully explored, 
m order to discover if it was possible to land in any oilier 
place. We first steered farther oft from the wall of ice, which 
was soon lost to sight m the mist, and the weather growing 
brighter towards noon we again tried to reach the coast. 



OUR WORK ON THE EAST COAST. 


61 


Strangely enough we found no barrier here but, as far as the 
eye could reach, a low, level surface of ice stretched inwat ds 
towards the land. At a considerable distance in we saw 
some snow-free tops shooting up, which, according to Larsen, 
were the same as those he had called Mount Jason and 
Weather Island (Jasonbeiget, Vaderon). As far as I could 
see, they were lather low and unimportant; it is therefore 
very probable that this district consists of a number ot 



Photo by ,I [0 A. Lahs^v 

The farther south we came, the closer lay the ice. 

nunataks of the same description as the Seal Islands proved 
to be, 

It was evident that, in the absence of any depot, there 
was not much use in endeavouring to reach the land itself, 
but I wished, at least, to take this opportunity of examining 
the quality of the ice in these regions, and therefore had 
the ship laid-to close to the edge of the ice, where the liveliest 
picture imaginable was soon exhibited. Even the dogs were 
allowed to come down from the ship, and attempts were made 
to use the sledges. I did not see this last incident, as I had 
at once put on my ski and started off inland as quickly as 






62 


ANTARCTICA. 


I could across the snow. It was heavy going ; the snow 
stuck to the ski and, in spite of the help those gave me, I 
sometimes sank deep through the snow and the underlying 
layer of watery sludge down to the fast ice. I found several 
lakes of fresh water, which it was interesting to discover, 
as it has been stated that such pools of water were almost 
non-existent in South Polar regions. It was clear io me 
that, should the suiface freeze ever so little, this ice would 
form the most excellent ground for a sledge-journey. 

I wandered on in this way for a couple of horns until I 
reached a large iceberg from whence I got a better view 
inland. My course had not been kept direct towards the 
island and therefore I did not seem to be much nearer now 
than when I began my reconnoitering. T did not ventuie 
to go further from my party, but returned to the ship, where 
they had already begun to be anxious on my account, especially 
as the drift-ice set in all more and more towards the edge 
of the fast ice. Some scientific observations had been made 
and an emperor-penguin (Aptenodytos Forstcri )—the laigest 
of all the now living species of penguins—had been captured. 
It was the first specimen of that species which wo. had 
hitherto seen during the course of the expedition ; it weighed 
33 kilogrammes (72|lbs.). 

We sailed slowly through the ice-floes, and I was up early 
the next morning in order to look at a chain of islands which 
peeped out through the mist. I feel certain that they wore 
the Seal Islands, as they are called ; but between them and us 
lay a broad belt of uneven, broken ice, difficult of penetration, 
unless an expedition were made with the help both of sledges 
and of boats. So we continued northwaids in the hope of 
finding a passage there, and during the course of the after¬ 
noon we actually did meet with a narrow channel between 
two immense, more than mile-long floes, which seemed to 
stretch far inwards towards the land. It would perhaps 
have been possible to take this channel, but the great ice¬ 
floes were m motion, pressing against each other so hard in 
some places that it was apparent that there would be danger 




Mighty icebergs are sometimes seen, amid Lhe ice 






ANTARCTICA 


64 

ra forcing the passage. We determined therefore to pursue 
our course awhile, on the look-out for a moie promising 
opening. First we went N E , then N , and at last the ice 
turned direct to the west. The air had been misty and 
thick the whole time we were manoeuvring amid the pack- 
ice, but now, m a moment, the mist lifted like a curtain, and 
a picture lay before our eyes surpassed m grandcui by nothing 
I had hitherto seen ; a blue, sun-illununed sea, with colossal, 
white-gleaming ice-bergs and, in the far-away background, a 
land where rose one mighty, commanding cone oi ice, 
while dark, heavy masses ol cliffs projected heic and there 
along the coast. We had proceeded so far in the mist, and 
with such a winding course, that a good time elapsed be 1 foie 
we clearly knew where we were I soon became convinced 
that this could he nothing else than Mount Haddington; 
but at first not even the captain would agree to this, taking 
it to be a part of King Oscar II. Land. In any case, the .sight 
of this picture caused us to resign all further attempts to 
penetrate to the Seal Islands We determined instead to 
examine if a road could be found here leading to some more 
interior, unknown legion. We went ahead at full speed, 
but the land was so high and ol such vast extent that we 
could scarcely perceive that we came any nearer. Not be 1 01 e 
the evening did we stop, having reached the edge of the ice, 
■just at the corner where it turned off towaids the south. 
While the zoologists di edged with the usual rich result— 
obtaining amongst other things a number ol fish— I and a 
few of my companions landed on the ice m order to discover 
if it was suitable for a sledge-journey to where the land rose 
from the sea. But it was so criss-crossed with large rifts 
that it was apparent it would he a very difficult task to make 
any progress and, in any case, a depot in this place, so near 
to Cape Seymour, would not be of any very great service. 

However, on the occasion ol this landing wc made a dis¬ 
covery which at the time, it is true, was as little investigated 
as the other observations we made, but to which a certain 
amount of importance must be ascribed ; it was that of a 




Even the dogs were allowed to come down on the ice 



66 


ANTARCTICA. 


lofty, wild Alp-like landscape far away to the west. The 
distance was so great that we could not make out any details ; 
neither could we see if it formed a continuous si retch of 
country, but even then I imagined it to form the east coast 
of that mainland which, was not seen by Larsen duiing his 
previous voyage, but with whose opposite coast both the 
Belgian Expedition and our own had made acquaintance 
in the Gerlache Channel. This supposition was afterwards 
confirmed duiing the course of my sledge-journeys. 

At ii p.m. we steamed to the east, but scarcely were we 
off the extreme point of Snow Hill than we were overtaken 
by a violent storm from the north The vessel was there¬ 
fore allowed to lie and drive along the coast during the night, 
endeavouring to come as much as possible under lee of the 
land. 




Wintering station a.t Snon Hill , 21st I'ebruaiy 1502 










6 ? 


CHAPTER IV. 

A FEW PAGES FROM THE HISTORY OF ANTARCTIC 
EXPLORATION. 

The Antarctic mainland and its two divisions, West Antaictica and East 
Antarctica—Dak Ghemtsz, William Smith, Palmer, Morell, Bellingshausen, 
Weddell, Biscoe, Dumont, d’Uirille, Ross, Dallmann, Larsen. Gerladie 

THE great interest which, during 
the last few years, has in so 
many quarters attached itself 
to South Polar regions, has also 
called forth many more or less 
popular accounts of the history 
of its discovery. Although in 
this history we meet with none 
of the great tragedies we read 
of in descriptions of Arctic 
voyages of discovery, and al¬ 
though it offers none of those 
great problems the solving of 
which has, for hundreds of 
years, enticed the one expe¬ 
dition after another to the ice¬ 
bound north, still it presents many points of great interest, 
some of which I should like to touch upon a little more 
nearly. There can be no doubt whatever but that a 
detailed study of the accounts of early whaling and sealing 
expeditions would show that there still exists a large 
field of labour in the domain of historical research in this 

-s 



Su James Ross 



68 


ANTARCTICA. 


matter. Unfortunately, the want of space renders it im¬ 
possible for me to enter into a detailed examination oL 
the question, and in this chapter, therefore, we shall but 
briefly mention some of the most important discoveries 
made in the region wlieic the Swedish Expedition earned 
out its investigations. 

There is one point ol view to which I attach especial 
importance, and which has once more become actual, since, 
just by means of our Expedition, a clear picture has been 
obtained of the coast-contours of this region, and it is that 
of the naming of the different parts of the territory m question. 
It is true that it but too commonly happens that a geographical 
name is given to a place for causal reasons, without any 
connection either with the hisiory of the chscoveiy of the 
spot, or with the nature of the place ; this method, however, 
is not a desirable one, and when it becomes a question of 
giving names to districts of such vast extent, it is undoubtedly 
of interest to look at the matter from its historical side. 

We are acquainted at the present day with a laige number 
of stretches of land around the South Pole. It is still a 
matter of doubt whether these regions stand in connection 
with each other, and the question will jurobably never be 
fully solved, from the fact of the greater part of them being 
perpetually covered with an enormously thick mantle ol ice. 
But it is just on this account that the matter in question 
becomes one of no very great importance. A continent 
lies here, however, although vastly unlike all the others, 
both in locality and nature, and this continent needs a 
special name, whether it prove to he a collection ol large 
islands, or whether, in addition to a number ol smaller isles, 
it embraces a continuous stretch of land equal in extent 
to the least of the other divisions of the globe. The name 
Antarctica has been proposed, and, in my opinion, it is a 
most suitable one. 

Even a fugitive glance at a map of the South Polar regions 
shows us that all the known land there is groujied about 
two centres. On the one side we have Victoria Land and 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 69 

Wilkes Land, with their sub-divisions ; on the other, the 
land to the south of South America. It is yet an wholly 
unsolved problem whether these two regions are connected 
with each other, but even if this should ever be proved to 
be the case, they would still, to a certain degree, be inde¬ 
pendent of each other, because of their being so much more 
accessible than the land which would in that case connect 
them. It therefore seems desirable to distinguish between 
these regions by means of some short name and, after long 
consideration during lonely hours amid the Polar ice, it 
seemed to me that the best plan would be to call the former 
tract East Antarctis, and the latter West Antarctis, 
following the usual plan ol naming places m the several 
hemispheres m which these regions are situated, although, 
at the same time, I was quite conscious of the fact that, just 
in this part of the world, the terms, east and west, are of 
unusually little significance. I found, on my return, that 
an American explorer, Mr. E. S. Balch, had, during our absence, 
proposed just these very names, only with the difference 
that he used the English form, Antarctica. Under such 
circumstances I banish all hesitation and shall, therefore, 
m the following pages, call the region which was the scene 
of our labours by the name of "West Antarctica. 

I shall pass by entirely the description of Cook’s celebrated 
voyage, and the account of the expedition under the leader¬ 
ship of Dirk Gherritsz, concerning which latter seaman it 
is now known that he did not visit these tracts at all. 

It is by no means wonderful that the result of the dis¬ 
coveries made during Cook’s voyage was to create the impres¬ 
sion, that the whole of the region surrounding the South Pole 
was one immense ocean of ice where a few small solitary 
islands formed the only signs of land. The consequence was 
that all voyages of discovery in this part of the world ceased 
for a time, and it is equally easy to understand that when 
any undeniable discovery of land did take place, the whole 
thing depended on an accident Such was the case with 
that made by Captain William Smith. O11 a voyage between 



ANTARCTICA. 


70 

Buenos Ayres and Valparaiso on board of Ihe English brig, 
Williams, he tried, m order to escape the severe westerly 
winds, to take an unusually southerly course past Cape Horn, 
and, m doing so, discovered land on February 19, 1819, m 
lat. 62° 40' S. and about 6o° W. long. He could not, on 
this occasion, make it an object of any close investigation, 
neither could he do so on his return voyage in June, in the 
middle of winter, but during the course of a later journey 
in the October of the same year, he spent several days in 
exploring the land he had discovered, to which he after¬ 
wards gave the name of the New South Shetlands. On 
the 18th October he landed—-the first time in the history 
of Antarctica that man had trod its shores—at the place 
which he called the North Foreland, forming the north¬ 
eastern extremity of King George Island, on which occasion 
the territory was taken possession of in the name of the 
English king. 

This discovery of William Smith has by no means taken 
the place m the history of geographical exploration which 
it has deserved. Even if we allow that some groups of 
ocean-islands of a purely Antarctic nature were already 
known , even if it be possible that both Sheffield and Bellings¬ 
hausen would shortly, and independently of Smith, have 
discovered the same district—a thing which is by no means 
manifest—and if some day it should be proved that eailior 
navigators had already seen these tracts, or that an American 
sealer had visited the place at an earlier date without making 
the fact known—which is not at all inconceivable when we 
see how short a time was necessary to fill all the waters here¬ 
about with wlialeis and sealers—still, it is undeniable that 
he was the first who, in a most indisputable manner, made 
acquaintance with a part of the Antarctic continent. It is, 
of course, true that the South Shetlands aie merely a group 
of islands, but it is a group so intimately connected with 
the neighbouring continent, whose tops are visible m certain 
places 111 clear weather, as we ourselves saw, that the first 
sealer who devoted a few weeks to fishing around these islands 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 


n 


must, of a necessity, have discovered the mainland too 
Without at all desiring to depreciate the value of the obser¬ 
vations made m these regions during the years which followed, 
I wish to express the opinion that none of them can, m the 
slightest degree, be compared in importance with William 
Smith’s discovery. 

In that same summer of 1819-20 Smith returned in com¬ 
pany with an English naval officer, Edward Bransheld, in 
order to make a further exploration of the district The 
South Shetlands group was mapped out by this officer, but 
he does not appear to have seen anything of the mainland 
proper. The reason of this was, that the endeavour to pene¬ 
trate farther southwards was made so much to the east as 
long. 52° W. 

In the same summer the South Shetland Islands were 
visited by an American sealer, Sheffield, who killed a 
great number of the valuable fur-bearing seals. Whether 
it was tire result of information given by him and Smith, or 
from some other reason, is unknown, but it is said that the very 
next summer Bellingshausen met here about fifty (according 
to another version of the story, eighteen) American and 
English sealers. Nothing more is known of the greater part 
of them, but some among their captains have acquired renown 
m the history of exploration in consequence of their work 
in these southern waters. There is one of them especially, 
Nathaniel Palmer, an American captain, who has of late 
years been spoken of as if he was the real discoverer of the 
Antarctic mainland. This claim is, however, a little exagge¬ 
rated. According to Fanning’s own account—the very man 
upon whose statements the claim is founded—Palmer was 
not the first who saw the land, but the honour of the discovery 
must be ascribed to Captain Pendleton, the leader of the 
American flotilla, who saw from Deception Island a high 
mountainous land far to the south. Palmer was sent out 
again later on in order to explore this land, but we have no 
mapping-out, or any more detailed information, of the land 
which, on many charts of the period, hears his name. It 



72 


ANTARCTICA. 


may be also stated that this coast was visited by other vessels 
just about the same time. Thus, on charts as early as 
Weddell’s, we find the name Tunity Land instead ol Palmer 
Land 

Both the names just mentioned as given to the mainland 
have had a very changing history, and have sometimes 
almost disappeared from the maps But now that the north 
coast of West Antarctica has been explored, the question 
arises where these names ought to be put Gerlarlic has 
proposed calling the whole of the western archipelago after 
Palmer, while other exploiers have wished that a pail of 
the mainland itself should bear his name. Having to choose 
between these two proposals, I have adopted the latter, and 
so propose to call that stretch of coast explored by us between 
Louis Philippe Land and Danco Land—partly the same land 
seen by Pendleton from Deception Island—after the man 
who, m any case, was as far as we know the first to undertake 
a voyage of any length along the territory. Trimly Land, 
on the other hand, disappears as such, but in remembrance 
of the old designation I have called the largest of the islands 
lying off Palmer Land by the name of Trinity Island, and 
the lesser one, Pendleton Island, alter the man who first 
caught sight ol the land. 

The result of the researches carried out, by Balcli especially, 
proves very plainly how great were the services rendered 
by American sealers and whalers in respect to the explora¬ 
tion of the region m question, and it can hardly be doubled 
that they had discovered Graham Land proper long before 
Biscoe did. On the other hand, there is no special reason 
to suppose that any of them ever visited the eastern coast, 
for at present we must consider Morrell’s much spoken-of 
voyage as apocryphal in the highest degree. 

While speaking of the whale and seal-fishing expeditions 
which we have to thank for the first news received of the 
tract we write of, we must not forget to mention the English¬ 
man Powell, who, in 1821, discovered the South Orkney 
Islands and has, moreover, left a fairly complete map of, and 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. n 

much valuable inloxmation concerning, the whole of these 
regions. 

But before this, in the same year that Palmer carried out 
his first work of exploration, another discovery, not less 
valuable, was made in the same tract. On January 21st, 
1821, a Russian exploring expedition under Bellingshausen 
discovered a large extent of land m about the 69th degree 
of S. latitude, which received the name of Alexander I Land 
Dining the last few years it has been seen again by Ev ens en 
and Gcrlacho, but nothing further is known about it, not 
even whether it is continuous with Graham Land, which lies 
more to the northwards. As I have already mentioned, 
Bellingshausen afterwards paid a short visit to the South 
Shetland^, where he carried out some cartographical work. 

I shall pass over Weddell’s celebrated voyage entirely, 
since it is so generally known and as it did not have any 
connection with the land itself, and shall proceed to Biscoe’s 
voyage in 1832. On his way from Australia to the South 
Shetlands he purposely steered to the southwards in the hope 
ol finding land there On February 15th he discovered an 
island in lat. 67° 15'' S. and long. 69° 29' W., which he called 
Queen Adelaide Island. During the course of the following 
days he observed several other new islands and, on February 
21st, he landed on what he imagined to be the mainland, 
although it was probably the island named by Gerlache, 
Antwerp Island. At all events, Biscoe took possession of 
the land in the name of England, and on lus return home 
the region was called after the then First Lord of the Ad¬ 
miralty, Sir James Graham, and the name Graham Land 
lias since come into general use to designate the mainland 
here in its entirety. As the names Palmer Land, Trinity 
Land, and Alexander Land, as well as several others, are 
undoubtedly older—unless it should prove that a special 
and different island was met with—the use of the name 
Graham Land seems to be unsmted for this purpose, but, 
on the other hand, it also appears very difficult to decide 
at present upon using one of the other names just mentioned. 



ANTARCTICA. 


74 

For my own part, I am inclined to call this mass ol land 
Smith. Land, but to this it can, not unreasonably, be objected 
that should the name West Antarctica be adoplcd, theie 
is no reason for giving any name for the present to the main¬ 
land m question. Consequently it can be left to the explorer 
who, at some future time, may succeed m determining its 
extent southwards and its relation to East Antarctic lands 
to give a name to this region. 

After Biscoe’s voyage there is an interval of over 40 years, 
during which tune scarcely any other exploring expeditions 
visited the Antarctic seas than the almost contemporaneous 
ones under Wilkes, Dumont d’Uiville and Ross. All three men 
won most of their leputalion in the eastern part of the conti¬ 
nent, but they all made discoveries, and some of them im¬ 
portant ones, 111 West Antarctica. We need do no more 
than mention Wilkes 1 voyage, as it lias left no great traces 
behind it in the matter of mapping-out the last-named region. 
One year earlier than Wilkes, d’Urville had visited the South 
Shetlands during January, 1838, taking Tiorra del Fucgo 
as his starting-point, and he also explored the entire stretch 
of coast of the whole of the land—then known only as far as 
regarded its general features—which lies south of the islands 
named, down to the large bay which he called the Orleans 
Channel. He constructed a tolerably good chart of this 
district, and he can scarcely be blamed if he gave altogether 
new names to these stretches of land, names borrowed from 
persons in his own native country. On the other hand, he 
gave the name, Trinity Land, only to that tract which lies 
west of the Orleans Channel. The large island which, ac¬ 
cording to his discoveries, forms the most eastern portion of 
this stretch of land, received the name of Joinville Island, 
while the mainland was called Louis Flulippe Land, after 
the French king. 

D’Urville’s voyage marks a very considerable amount of 
progress m our knowledge of these regions, and this is still 
more so in the case, perhaps, as regards the expedition under 
Sir James Ross, 111 1843. As in East Antarctica, this leader 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 


75 

was not content with exploring the comparatively easily 
accessible north coast of'these regions, but he boldly pene¬ 
trated farther southwards to their eastern shores, which 
he mapped out as fully as they could be from the sea. 
But impenetrable pack-ice was met with as far north as 
lat 64° 30' S., and, after several fruitless endeavours to break 
through, he was obliged to return eastwards with his vessel. 
It would be of the greatest interest m this connection to 
give a more detailed account of the discoveries made by 
Captain Ross during this celebrated voyage, but, just because 
it has such an intimate connection with our own expedition 
—it is, amongst other things, so very characteristic how 
perfectly similar our original plans were and, moreover, 
the scene of the greater part of our labour was, as may be 
seen, in or near the regions previously visited by Ross—I shall 
have many opportunities 111 the following pages of recurring 
to the matter again. 

If we omit more than mentioning Smiley’s visit in 1842 
and the German whaling and sealing expeditions under 
the leadership of Dallmann m 1874, we now reach our own 
times In September, 1892, a flotilla of four vessels, under 
the command of Captain Fairweather, was sent from Dundee 
to Erebus and Terror Gulf, iu order to look for the Greenland 
whales of which Ross speaks many times in the account of 
his journey. These vessels were accompanied by Mr. W. S. 
Bruce and Dr. Donald as the naturalists of the expedition, 
and our thanks are due to these gentlemen for much interesting 
information. Geographically speaking, little of consequence 
was effected, the most important discovery being that of 
the sound which divides Joinville Island from Dundee Island, 
as it has been called. They circumnavigated the last-named 
island, but the representation on the chart of the sound which 
I called after the Antarctic, and which they must have seen 
from the south, is rather incorrect. 

Simultaneously with these vessels, the Norwegian whaler, 
the Jason, under the command of Captain C. A. Larsen, 
left for the same waters, commissioned by a firm of ship- 



76 


ANTARCTICA. 


owners in Hamburg Neither did this journey result in 
any very important geographical discoveries, but, on the 
occasion of his landing on Seymour Island, Captain Lai sen 
made a discovery which will never be forgotten m the annals 
of physical research, viz., that of the first fossils ever found 
m Antarctica. But, while the Scotch shippcis had reason 
to think that the work they had commenced had not tinned 
out a very profitable one for them, Larsen’s voyage gave 
such good economical results that lie was able to return 
the very next summer as the leader of a flotilla ol three vessels, 
and on this occasion, geographical discovenes of importance 
were also made. Taking advantage of what was evidently 
an unusually tavourable condition of the ice,* he sailed 
forward upon an almost icc-frce sea southwards from Erebus 
and Terror Gulf and, on December ist, 1893, lie discovered 
high land which received the name of King Oscar II. Land. 
A stretch of land which appeared to him to be a far-projecting 
cape he called Cape Framnas , then came a great bight 
with high land visible at a distance, Foyn Land, as it is 
called, which was followed bjr a projecting, even slope of 
ice which undoubtedly corresponds to the ice-terrace with 
which I made acquaintance during a sledgc-jouiney farther 
to the north. Larsen followed this ice-edge down to lat, 
68° 10' S. without seeing any land in this direction which was 
free from snow; on reaching flic latitude mentioned, the 
unbroken winter-ice compelled him to return. On his way 
back he discovered a chain of islands farther to the 1101th 
and succeeded, by means of ski, in coming over the ice to one 
of these, which received the name of Christensen Island. 
Strangely enough, he did not here catch sight of the high 
land which, farther to the west, forms the continuation of 
King Oscar Land, and forms, loo, the western shore of the 

* It is a strange coincidence that the fiisl yeais of the decade 1890-99 were le- 
markablc foi the unusually large masses of icebeigs which were met with in the 
southern parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and which must have come from 
South Polar regions. One cannot help imagining that there must be some con¬ 
nection between the favourable condition of the ice which Laisen enjoyed timing this 
journey, and the forces which set these gieat masses of ice adrift. 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 


77 


great bay m which lie now was In clear weather I have 
myseli been able to make out the land m question, with all 
its details, from the very same place. At first it was supposed 
that the land here was intersected by a broad sound, and it 
was the tract north of that which was called Dirk Gherntsz 
Land. 


West from Greenwich 



The lale&l map of W. Anlaictica before the Belgian and Swedish expeditions 
(after Fricker). 


This expedition of Larsen’s stands in such intimate con¬ 
nection with our own that I need not now enter into any 
further details of the voyage. Viewed from a merely geo¬ 
graphical point of view it must be considered, when compared 
with other whaling expeditions, as one of the richest in results 
ever undertaken, whether to the North Polar, or to Antarctic 









78 


ANTARCTICA. 


regions. The discoveries made by Larsen on tins voyage 
fully rival m extent those made by men like Palmer, Briscoe 
and Weddell: the chart he has drawn exaggerates all distances 
and dimensions, it is true, but still it gives a fairly good 
representation of the condition of things His scientific 
observations and collections also deserve to be warmly com¬ 
mended. The greater part of the latter have unfortunately 
since been lost; after having been safely carried across a 
hemisphere, the vessel in which they were being sent home 
was wrecked off Dover. Later explorers have proposed to 
call the great bay, whose southern end was observed from 
Christensen Island, by the name of Larsen Bay. That its 
more detailed exploration was carried out by Ihe Swedish 
Expedition in which Lai sen took part so meritoriously can, 
I imagine, only contribute to render Ins title to the honour 
still more deserved. 

These whaling and sealing expeditions were immediately 
followed by the voyage of the Antarctic to Victoiia Land, 
under the command of Bull and Kristenscn, and with 
Borchgrewmglc on board. When this expedition returned, 
the scientific world had already seriously commenced llie 
preliminary work of the great international co-operative 
scheme of exploration which has now been brought to a 
successful close with the return of the German, Swedish and 
English expeditions. 

But before these three expeditions started in 1901, two 
other large exploring parties had gone to the Antarctic 
waters, and their work may be said to have recommenced 
the task of the scientific exploration of South Polar regions, 
which had been laid aside half a century before. And of 
these two there is one again whose labours more nearly 
concerned the regions chiefly treated of in this work. Under 
the leadership of Adrien de Gerlache, a scientific expedition 
left on board the steamship Belgica, for the purpose of making 
a detailed exploration of South Polar tracts, having Tierra 
del Fuego as its starting-point. The plan of this voyage 
seems not to have been fully decided upon beforehand, and 



ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 


79 


in consequence of various mishaps it was not before the 
middle of January, 1898, that the expedition could leave 
Staaten Island. The work of exploration proper was begun 
in Hughes Bay. From this place was discovered and mapped- 
out the broad channel which separates the islands already 
seen by Smiley and Dallmann, from what now was given 
the name of Danco Land. After three weeks' work of ex¬ 
ploration m these tiacts, the vessel sailed westward towards 
the open sea, where, however, it soon fastened in the ice and 
drifted about in that situation for more than a year before it 
was released. 

The results of tins expedition are significant, partly on 
account of the indications obtained of the existence of a 
stretch of coast south of the Pacific Ocean, too, and partly 
m consequence of the excellent scientific work done during 
the voyage, and amongst which I must above all mention 
the series of meteorological winter-observations, the first 
ever made in Antarctica. 

It is for the purpose of completing this summary that I 
wish finally to add, that, of the expeditions which went out 
simultaneously with us, the English one under Captain Scott 
spent two winters in the south part of Victoria Land, in 
lat. 77 0 50' S., from which point a sledging expedition pene¬ 
trated as far as to lat. 82° 17' S., whilst the German one, under 
Professor von Drygalski, wintered m 1902, the newly-discovered 
Emperor William Land, in lat. 66° 2' S. and long. 89° 48' E 
The Scotch expedition under Bruce, which left Europe in 
1902, spent the winter of 1903 in the South Shetland Islands, 
that is, in the same region as we, although in somewhat more 
northern latitudes. 



CHAPTER V. 


A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY IN WEDDELL SEA. 

Vruicms possibilities tor the summer’s woik—21st Jammy, 1902—Life on lioaul llie 
Antarctic- -Sciuntific weak—An iceberg insTcad oi a newly (liscovcictl island— 
The Antaiclic ice. 

Ever since the moment when we had been obliged to turn 
back from the east Antarctic coast, before even the Polar 
Circle had been reached, the thoughts oi everybody on the 
Antarctic had been directed to the question as to how wc could 
best use that part of the summer which still remained. There 
were two ways open to us > either we could return to the tracts 
which we had lately and so successfully visited—the Orleans 
Channel and the Erebus and Terror Gull—and there continue 
our geographical and scientific work until the time was at hand 
for making the final preparations lor landing at the wintering- 
station, on Seymour Island, for example ; or, in accordance 
with the plan I had already proposed when in Sweden, wc 
could follow the line of the ice towards the east in the hope of 
finding an opening somewhere, through which we could pene¬ 
trate into that open sea which Weddell had once seen and 
navigated. 

After thorough consideration I determined to adopt the 
latter alternative ; all of us should go eastwards. Should the 
weather be favourable I hoped to succeed in peneLrating to a 
considerable distance ere it became necessary to land the 
wintering party. When I came on deck on the 21st of J anuary, 
we were already a good distance at sea. The day was clear 





6 


“ Here’s ajhealih unto His Majesty! ”—21st January, 1902 





82 


ANTARCTICA 


and sunshiny, one of the most beautiful we had had, and wo 
wore glad of the fact, it being our intention to celebrate H.M. 
Ivmg Oscar’s birthday by a great and general least on board 
At noon all hands were assembled on deck, the King’s health 
was drunk, and a cheer for His Majesty was proposed and 
lesponded to with vigorous Swedish hurrahs. Two whaling- 
guns had been placed in the lore of the vessel, and scarcely 
had the hurrahs died away than the shots from these began to 
echo, one after another, until the full tale of 21 was told. They 
came a little slowly and irrcgulaily, but it was none (he less 
solemn to stand heie amid this desolate, magnificent scenery, 
and hear the sound given back from the walls ol the icy tells. 

Then came the festive dinner ior all divisions of the ship’s 
party, with wine and speeches and drinking of healths. After 
dinner was over, the mates and the ship’s engineers were 
invited to the gun-room, and we sat there till fai into the small 
hours, enjoying ourselves in the pleasantest way possible' 

On the whole, we spent a very agreeable hie 011 board during 
this period. Although it was not possible duiing the actual 
voyaging to have plenty of occupation foi all the men ropie- 
senting so many different branches of science, still it cannot 
be said that the time seemed long. During the day we pi eferred 
staying on deck, observing the one-toned, but always inte¬ 
resting, scenery around us ; there was a special pleasure, too, 
m seeing how our vessel forced her way thiough the masses 
of ice. 

When not on deck we sat at the gun-room table working, 01 
we lay m our berths reading, or were busied with whatever 
there was to do. Thanks to the goodwill of the Swedish pub¬ 
lishers we had an excellent library on board. Our berths were 
narrow and, what was worse, almost dark, for the little sky¬ 
lights did not admit much light through the thick glass, but 
they were pleasant and comfortable in any case, and each of 
us was glad to have his own little room where he could do as 
he pleased. 

It is not only on deck, however, that we are pressed for room, 
just at this time when we are so many on board. At meals, 



IN THE WEDDELL SEA 


33 

we arc ten persons at the gun-room table—that is, almost as 
many as can find, place there. And all the little cabins aie 
occupied ; the steward, who had one of them until we reached 
Buenos Ayics, is now berthed in the photographer’s dar k- 
100m. 

There is, however, a certain monotony in the life we lead 



Phoioly] [® Ekelot. 

The low-net comes up. 

which becomes clearly noticeable,, especially after the great 
excitement of the days, so rich in results, which we spent off 
the coasts of the land-regions, and it causes a slight irritability 
in all of us, and a constant longing to see something new. 
Happily for us, we have a considerable amount of scientific’work 
to do. We did not delay longer than till January 22nd before 
taking a sounding at a depth of about 1,000 metres (540 fath.), 

6 * 




ANTARCTICA. 


S 4 


the temperature and samples ol the water being obtained at 
the same time. Then the trawl was set out, and we went 
slowly ahead for two hours, letting it drag behind us. When 
we commenced hauling it on board, the whole thing suddenly 
stood still, while the accumulator was strained to the utter¬ 
most, so that it looked as if the line would break any minute. 
Suddenly it loosens with a jerk ; we see that something is out 
ol order, but hope it is only that the trawlmg-bag has been 
torn to pieces. This turns out to be the case, but, fortunately, 
in addition to the large trawl we had also hung out a smaller 
dredge, and in this we obtained samples oi the animal life 
existing here at the bottom. To get this result we had, how¬ 
ever, been steadily at work for nearly six hours. 

The next sounding was not taken before January 25th, when 
a depth of 3,750 metres (2,031 lath.) was observed, a depth 
which remained almost constant during nearly the whole oi the 
time we sailed eastwards It cannot actually be said that this 
was anything unexpected, but we were in seas where as yet 
none had ever taken soundings, and thus every result was of 
great interest. The conditions of the temperatuic of these 
waters were, naturally, also unknown. To illustrate these I 
will here quote the following series, which were taken farther 
to the east, on February 2nd . 


20 melieh*— 1 57 0 C. = 29.174“ 1'. 
40 m, — t 0o° C. == 29 i2o" F, 

70 m — t 67° C =28.994" I 1 '. 

100 m. — 1.3a 0 C =29.G6o°F. 

150 m. — o 29° C. = 3 .478° F. 


200 moties + o 20° C. = 32 360° K 
300 m. + 0.31’’ C. = 32.558“ 1 >\ 

500 m. 4- 0.37" C = 32 606 “ F. 

1,600 m. 4-0.0° C. = 32° F, 

3,700 m. — 04° C =31 280° K. 


The layer of warm water at a certain depth is characteristic 
of a great part of the Polar Sea. It can be added that this is 
a rather cold sea ; colder, for example, than in those tracts 
south of the Pacific Ocean examined by the Belgian Expe¬ 
dition 

It was clear that we could not entertain any thoughts ol 
undertaking any dredgings for zoological purposes after having 
come into the deep-sea zone, for the line we had with us was 


* I metre = 39 37 inches,. 




Seals out on dnft-ice 








86 


ANTARCTICA 


not long enough. We had recouise, instead, to using the tow- 
net m the deeper layers of water. This method ol investi¬ 
gation has of late yeais given rise to discoveries ol extra¬ 
ordinary inteicst, and especially that of a previously unknown 
animal-world which lives freely swimming at great depths, 
without either coming to the surface or going to the bottom. 
We had with us several different kinds of tow-nets for the 
purpose of making these investigations. It is true that one 
does not get the same mass of diffcient forms by using these 
nets as one does tty bottom-dredging , but, on the other hand, 
the most beautiful, peculiar and delicate animal-types are 
obtained by this means. Our zoologists are always delighted 
when the net comes to the surface after having been drawn 
through the water at the depth of a mile or so. 

The rest of the animal-world which surrounded us was, on 
the contrary, monotonous m form and by no means lich. Small 
herds of seals, sea-leopards for the most part, were met with 
heie and there, but they never showed themselves in such 
numbers that it would be worth while for sealers to work m 
these regions Whales, on the contrary, were very numerous, 
and, farthest to the east, where we turned about, we were 
surrounded by whole schools of immensely large blue-whales, 
which not unfrequenlly came to the surface in the immediate 
vicinity of the ship. 

I cannot help specially mentioning a peculiar phenomenon 
observed by us on February 7th, when, on our return, we passed 
somewhere near long. 52 0 W. We saw floating on the water 
here a large number of dead fish belonging to a species of the 
group of scopohdenue and not exceeding 1 decimetre (four 
inches) in length at the most. These fish belong, m geneial, 
]ust to that class of animal-forms which I* mentioned a little 
while ago as living at great depths, although not upon the sea- 
bottom itself. It is not easy to account for such an occurrence 
in the middle of the ocean, and, at the time, wc supposed 
it to be owing to a submarine volcanic eruption, but I imagine 
that, instead of having recourse to this bold hypothesis for 
the purpose of explaining the matter, the phenomenon can, 



IN THE WEDDELL SEA. 


S; 

with more probability, be ascubed to the effect of ocean- 
currents. 

We continued our coiuse onwaids through the ice, or along 
its edge, without meeting anything of note. The 30th 
January, however, interrupted this monotony a little. As we 
glided past a promontory of pack-ice, we caught a distant 
glimpse ol some very large black objects at some distance, 
which certainly could be seals, but which, on account of their 
size, reminded one much more ol enormous blocks of stone. 
Several pieces of sea-weed were also seen floating about m the 



Diauing bn] [0. skotwueru 

The supposed island turned out to he a large iceberg 


water. In the course of the afternoon the captain called my 
attention to a lofty object of irregular form far away to the 
south-east, which undeniably had the appearance of land. We 
were now m long. 48° W., or nearly so, which is just where 
Morrell places “ New South-Greenland,” and where Ross has 
noted on his chart, “ appearance of land.” It was, therefore, 
not altogether impossible that here within the ice there could 
lie some hitherto unknown island We began to thmk that 
we stood on the brink of an important discovery, and it was 
immediately determined to direct our course towards the sup¬ 
posed land. Our pathway, of course, lay right through the 
midst of the pack-ice ; we received several hard blows just at 




88 


ANTARCTICA. 


its edge, but afterwards the floes grew somewhat fewer, and we 
made our way between them without any difficulty. It was 
a quiet evening and the sea lay still, whilst we all stood 
assembled on deck m the giowing dusk. We are all warmly 
interested, but no one dares to state openly that lie believes 
it to be land. Opinions change from minute to minute , 
sometimes it looks so wonderfully like land—a wide expanse 
of rolling snow-clad landscape, with a few hills, which arc 
snow-clad too, and in one place we imagine we see a lofty 
snow-free peak—and then again, when it is revealed in a new 
light, it seems to be merely an immense ice-fell We are 
evidently coming nearer, although at first we can scarcely 
mark the fact. In the meantime, the dusk comes on more 
and more, and when at last we come near the object of 
our search, it is getting on for midnight. We sec now 
that it cannot be very large, but still, at the very last moment 
the excitement and our hopes are raised to the vciy highest 
pitch. The great difference between the dark parts and the 
light since the sun went down, the perfect resemblance to 
land, the gently-rounded forms by the side of the highest peak— 
it could scarcely be possible for it to appear as it does were it 
merely an ordinary iceberg At last we lound ourselves close 
beside the supposed island and rounded it, only to find that it 
consisted of a lofty, peculiarly-formed iceberg which had been 
turned upside down, and that the patches we had taken for 
projecting points of land were merely compact, snow-free ice. 
The great depth of the sea, too, in these parts does not speak 
for the likelihood of finding any large masses of land here¬ 
abouts ; neither did we see, this occasion excepted, anything 
which gave strong indications of the occurrence of islands or 
large stretches of land in the vicinity of our course. 

It was on the afternoon of the 22nd January that we 
reached the pack-ice, which here extended from south-west to 
north-east as far as the eye could sec. On the extreme edge 
there was a narrow band of small bits of crushed ice, sharply 
divided on the inner side from a thick, tightly-packed mass of 
floes which m places were pretty high. The air was hazy and 



IN THE WEDDELL SEA. 89 

muggy so that we could not see far ahead, but, of course, we 
had scarcely any other choice than to follow along the ice 
northwards. We did so for two days, passing the one bay 
after another in the icc, which were very often so deep that 
in the mist we could not discern their southern ends. In 
order to make quite sure of not letting any possibilities slip out 
of our hands, we used, as a rule, to turn into these ch ann els 
and follow along the edge, but this method of procedure was 
tedious work, and the wind, moreover, was unfavourable. 



Photo by] 


Drift-ice. 


[0, A, LAHSEN, 


At last, on the 24th, we detei mined to make an attempt 
to force a passage through the ice, since we could see to the 
noith-east that peculiar, dark reflection m the sky, which, 
when visible above an ice-covered sea, is a sign that large 
spaces of open water are to be found amid the floes. 

We now make acquaintance m earnest with the pack-ice of 
the South Polar Sea. At first it is somewhat loose, but it 
soon grows more compact, so that we have a difficult task to 
make any progress. It is very fine, however, to stand on deck 
and see how well the vessel manages amid the masses of ice. 




go 


ANTARCTICA. 


From the crow’s nest the captain chooses the point ol attack, 
much after the same principle as that adopted by a billiard 
player, so that not only is the floe which is struck pushed aside 
m the right direction to a place where thcie is room lor it, but, 
in consequence of the lecoil, the adjacent floe comes into 
movement too, and makes way for the vessel. We go full 
speed ahead, then the engines are stopped, and suddenly 
conies so violent a shock that the ship appears ready 
to open in all its seams, and one new to the work can 
easily imagine that every moment will be his last. But 
matters are not quite so bad , the colossal floe begins to move 
slowly ; the vessel goes almost as slowly ahead, while both the 
edges of the ice scrape against its sides with a protracted roar 
which is illusively like the muttering of thunder Now it 
becomes a question of using to the full, the advantage we 
have gamed, but when the floes are large the vessel must, 
as a rule, back several times in order to repeat the attack 
ere a channel can be cleared. It very oiten happens that 
several hours arc thus employed before we can break a path 
through only one narrow band of ice, about half a mile in 
breadth. It is wonderful how the ship can stand the strain ; 
but, then, these Polar Sea vessels are very solidly built. 

The ice which we had to penetrate just here consisted, as a 
rule, of very large level floes, reminding one of winter ice ncaily 
broken up, and having no long projecting ice-foot. It was, in 
general, pretty free from pieces of icebergs within its mass, 
and we seldom saw any marks of severe pressure. In conse¬ 
quence of its compactness and the size of the floes, it was, in 
my opinion, much more difficult to break through than any 
of the ice I have seen forced on the eastern coast of Greenland. 
After fighting strenuously for twenty-four hours it grew clear 
that we should not succeed in getting through, and we had to 
make up our minds to turn the ship’s head in the direction of 
the open water visible to the north-east. Towards evening, 
however, before coming clear of the ice, we stopped in the Ice 
of an enormous iceberg, for it seemed to promise a storm, and 
the promise was more than kept. We were obliged to stay 




PfiCl.O by] 


It js fine to see how well our ship manages amid the ice. 


ra, Btramuf. 









92 


ANTARCTICA. 


there during the whole of the next four-and-twenty hours 
whilst the ice drove past us, the swell being very noticeable 
even in the channel where we were 

From that tunc onwards, storm and mist became our faith¬ 
ful companions during the whole of the period that we 
remained m these regions. We made but very little progress 
eastwards, for the wind was contrary and our already insigni¬ 
ficant supply of coal grew rapidly less. The way, too, became 
much longer in consequence of the incessant recurrence of 
these great bays m the ice, and every attempt to cut thi ough 
any of the ice-promontories became adventurous m the foggy 
air, which never allowed of our seeing the way before us clearly. 
It was trying work for the captain and the mates to manage 
the ship in such weather and in such an ice-encumbered sea, 
especially as the nights began to grow dark quickly. Just 
when, m a heavy sea perhaps, efforts were being made to avoid 
some small pieces of ice or scattered patches of drift-ice, it 
would unexpectedly become the least degree m the world lighter 
ahead, and there would suddenly emerge from the mists the 
spectral outline of a blue-white mass of ice, much higher than 
the tops of our masts, and against whose base the waves were 
thrown and broken with a noise like the thunder of a water¬ 
fall. On such occasions as these we have to be sharp with our 
turnings, for, should a collision occur with one of these 
monsters, the Antarctic would not have the same chance as ill 
her combats with the pack-ice, and we should be liappy to lose 
nothing but the whole of our rigging at the very first blow. 

It is such icebergs which, by their number and their shape, 
form the most characteristic feature of Antarctic ocean 
scenery. They are not always seen when nature’s gloomy 
mood finds expression in darkness and storm; in brilliant 
sunshine they form a picture the magnificence of which can 
never be forgotten by those who have once seen it. The 
icebergs of northern waters are, as a rule, uneven, jagged ; 
often high, but never very extensive ; this is caused by their 
having originated m glaciers, which move quickly and are 
tiaversed by crevasses. An Antarctic iceberg of t}7pical form 



IN THE WEDDELL SEA 


93 


makes a powerful impression chiefly on account of its enor¬ 
mous mass, which, however, never appears overwhelmingly 
large by reason ol the simplicity of its lines. Its height can 
often be as much as 200 to 230 feet, while its length may be 
measured in miles; it is even said that icebergs have been 
observed which covered an area of more than a hundred 
square miles. When wc sec these Antarctic icebergs before us, 
with their even homontal surfaces and precipitous sides, the 
one giant mass beside the other, and more behind them, it 
often seems as though the whole horizon was shut in by a 
continuous wall. Many of the old stones of the occurrence of 
ice-barriers far out at sea have probably arisen ftom a miscon¬ 
struction oi this phenomenon. 



94 


CHAPTER VI. 

ARRIVAL AT TIIE WINTERING STATION 

We letiun westvvaifls-—Picpaiations foi putting the wuilciing-puuy ashoic—New 
chscovenes m Sidney Ileibeit Bay—A diAiiull foicing of the ice-Out imiul 
at Snow IIill—The equipment of the winteimg-pauy 

AGAIN we return upon our 
couise, but this time it is do- 
teimmed to put the wintciing- 
party on shore as soon as 
* possible, alter doing which we 
can scarcely hope to perform 
much more work this summer. 
On February rst we had reached 
Iat. 63° 3o / S. and long. 45 0 7' W. 
During the night there had fallen 
a something between lain and 
snow, and the whole ol the rigging was, so to say, iced over , 
the weather was so thick that we could see but some lew 
hundred yards before us ; there was a heavy swell on, and 
the wind was growing fresher and fresher. It was perfectly 
clear that, under the circumstances, tire prospect oi doing 
anything farther to the east and the south was reduced to 
a minimum, while there was imminent danger of our supply 
of coal running short before we had put the wintering-party 
ashore So I called together all the scientific members of 
the expedition, told them how matters stood and asked 
them for their views of our situation. Everyone was, of 
course, sorry that we were in a position which left us no 






a™* in Admiral tj Chun.,,! Bp™, .Jh FAnauy, .*»■ The «m««„n S - S taUon boated farthest to the left 




ARRIVAL AT THE WINTERING STATION. 95 

choice but to turn back, alter having sacrificed so much 
time and untiring labour on tins journey towaids the Weddell 
Sea, but ncaily all of those present voted for our commencing 
the journey back to winter-quarters as soon as possible. 

The termination of the first period of the labours of the 
expedition was approaching with rapid strides, together 
with the moment when I myself should lesign my command 
on board and go ashore to spend the winter there. I had 
now definitely determined to establish our station somewhere 



Photo Ini'] [C, A. LuibiiN 

We luy-to liesidu some piessnre icq to fill 0111 cisterns with ice 

m the neighbourhood of Cape Seymour, preferably in at 
Admiralty Sound, where I hoped to find more shelter from 
storms, No other really more southerly place was to be had ; 
the field for magnetic observations within the district fixed 
upon was a favourable one, and its interesting geology alone 
made it well deserving of some months’ labour. 

An important questidn, decided at the last minute, was the 
choice of the men who should form the wintering-party at 
the station. It had been determined m Sweden that Bodman 
should stay on shore as next to me in command; we have 




ANTARCTICA 


9 6 

already mentioned that an agreement which arranged for 
Sobral’s being of the party had been made with the Minister 
oi the Navy for the Argentine, and Jonassen had, as we know, 
been engaged just for the purpose of being with the wmteiing- 
partjn I had, moreover, always wished that a doctor should 
be with us during this tune, and had spoken to Ekclof on the 
matter before leaving home, but without fully dctci mining 
the matter. Now I thankfully accepted Ins offer to remain 
amongst us. In addition to Jonassen, we were to be accom¬ 
panied by another of the crew; all of the men were willing 
to stay, but out of the number I at last chose Akerland, 
the youngest man on board, a choice we afterwards had no 
reason to repent. 

There was one person, however, who could only make up 
his mind at the very last minute whether he would stay with 
us at the wintering-station or not. It had at first been 
Mr. Stokes’ intention to pass the winter on shore, and ho 
had brought with him a house, especially built for the purpose, 
where he intended to live and have his atelier, but as time 
went on he grew very doubtful of the matter. In the first 
place he thought that we were going to take up our quarters 
a great deal too far to the north—the little prospect there 
would then be of a chance to paint the aurora australis being 
heie the determining factor—and then there were other reasons 
which finally induced him to embrace the resolution of con¬ 
tinuing to accompany the Antarctic. 

On the morning of the 9th February we sighted land again, 
and by noon we were off Cape Seymour, but the wind had 
once more freshened so much that landing could not be 
thought of, and in a short time it had grown to a perfect 
huiricane. A sudden squall tore the ]ib-sail to shreds, and 
to protect ourselves from worse damage, it became necessary 
to turn from the land again and seek shelter under lee of 
Cockburn Island. This remarkable place, with which we now 
made acquaintance for the first time, will often be mentioned 
in succeeding pages. It is of a most peculiar and chaiacter- 
istic form, the sloping base being composed of rocks ol 




Thick pack-ice, January 25th 



ANTARCTICA. 


98 

a somewhat friable character; above this is an almost 
perpendicular bank, the summit ol which forms a level plateau, 
from which, farthest to the north, rises a tnangularly-shaped 
pyramidal top. The island is of especial historical interest 
as being the only place m these regions where Ross landed ; 
he took possession of it m the name of England, and it was 
long the most southerly point on the globe where any vege¬ 
tation was known to exist. 

Fortunately, the wind fell in the course of the next forenoon, 
but we had drifted far towards the north Before us by 
Sidney Herbert Bay, which forms the inner, and hitherto 
unvisited, part of Erebus and Terror Gulf As we had now 
come so near to it we determined to spend some few hours 
in a visit to the bay in order to make a general survey of 
the district. The weather had gradually become clear and 
sunshiny; it seemed as though Antarctic nature wished 
to give us one last day, rich in memories and results, as a 
worthy conclusion ol the summer’s work We were surrounded 
by most magnificent scenery ; the shores were nearly free 
from snow and were resplendent in brown or bright-red 
colours The lower fells have lor the most part very decided 
plateau-like forms and appear to consist oi eruptive rocks. 
Between the fells immense glaciers find their way to the 
sea, while Mount Haddington lifts its blue-white crown m 
the farthest background But the most interesting observa¬ 
tion made was, that the bay, as we could soon assure ourselves, 
went farther inland than the charts make out. Even now, 
most of us suspected the possibility of Sidney Herbert Bay 
itself forming a channel which opened in to some bay or 
channel behind the land. In the hope of being able to fully 
solve this problem we directed our course onwards to a 
peculiar, low, sandy cape, when suddenly the colour of the 
water changed, and a moment after we saw that our propeller 
was beginning to tear up the mud from the bottom. The 
order was at once given to turn the vessel’s head, but before 
we had quite got about, the ship was aground. Luckily we 
had no great difficulty in getting afloat again, for after hoisting 










IOO 


ANTARCTICA 


the sails and letting the engines go full speed ahead, we glided 
softly off the sandbank into deep water. After having 
passed a compact belt of thick ice we again approached 
Cockburn Island, where the wind once more began to freshen 
and compelled us to lay-to 

The storm continued the whole night, but, as on the previous 
day, we had line weather again m the moinmg. Unfortunately, 
we had once more drifted pretty far to the noilh, and immense 
masses of ice, which had evidently broken loose from some¬ 
where southwards, bad placed themselves so that they 
hindered our approach to Admnalty Sound We seized 
the opportunity and did some trawling, and then began to 
force our way onwards through the ice It was a very severe 
task, the worst oi the kind we had yet had ; more than once 
it seemed as though we should not succeed, or, in other words, 
that, we should be obliged to turn and wait for a better oc¬ 
casion, which perhaps might never offer itselL at this time 
of the year. But thanks to the energy of our captain and 
the good qualities of the Antarctic, all difficulties were over¬ 
come, and when evening came we were at last able to con¬ 
gratulate ourselves on having stood the trial with success 
and on having made our way to the place where the wmtenng- 
station was to be established. 

When I went on deck at 4 am on February 12U1, m 
bitmgly cold weather, I stood and gazed for the first time ;i l 
these islands and shores which were to be our home for nearly 
two years, One can scarcely imagine any place which differs 
more from its surroundings than does the perfectly ice-free 
Seymour Island, with its deep valleys and peculiarly-formed 
lulls There were plenty of landing-places, but we sailed 
on in the hope of finding something still better than those 
we saw. After having passed the sound which forms the 
southern boundary of Seymour Island, we came to another 
stretch of land, quite as free from snow as the first, but 
which formed a much more continuous plateau, with high, 
sLeep shores, presenting nowhere any suitable landing-place. 
The landscape here passes immediately into an extensive, 




ARRIVAL AT THE WINTERING STATION iot 

umnteirupted snow-cap which teiminatcs towaids the seajpi 
a perpendicular wall. Wc have here before us Snow Hill, 
the same immense glaciei which vve had seen on another 
occasion horn the south The mass ot icc shoots out towaids 
the north-west m a nai row capo, between which and the high 
land lies a low shoic that, fiom its position and character 


PI,Ota hy\ tu HODMAN 

On the way to the crow’s-nest 

in general, seems to us to have been created for the very 
purpose of establishing a wintering-station. 

I wished, in any case, to examine the place a little more 
closely, and after a short time, putting off in a boat together 
with ■some others who were most interested in the intended 
investigation, we managed to make our way to the shore 



102 


ANTARCTICA. 


between the blocks of ice which lay aground The tiact of 
shore ]ust mentioned forms a small triangle whose longest 
side is a lew hundred metres in length, and it is protected 
m the one direction by the high land, and m the other by the 
perpendicular wall of ice aheady mentioned. To our in¬ 
experienced eyes it seemed as though the place enjoyed 
complete shelter from the cold south-winds, and first-ialc 
building-sites were discovered on the low lulls with their 
perfectly level surfaces. The rock consisted ol sandstone, 
traversed, it is true, by a vein of basalt, but this was so 
narrow however, that there did not appear much probability 
ol its exercising any essential influence on future magnetic 
observations. 

In these respects, then, the position was very favourable, 
but what finally determined my choice ol the place was the 
great wealth ol fossils which were immediately discovered. 
They were much moie numerous than in that part of Seymour 
Island 1 had visited, and differed essentially from the fossils 
with which we had there become acquainted, inasmuch as 
they included ammonites, which had never befoie been met 
with m Antarctic regions, It was quite evident that a sojourn 
at this place promised to be one of great interest, and after a 
short interval we returned to the vessel in order to commence 
landing the stores at once, 

It was no small equipment which was to be taken ashore 
to make it possible lor six persons to maintain themselves 
there for a period ol two years ; but I shall not dwell upon the 
subject nor give any complete list of the supplies we had with 
us. To carry out the transport to the land, wc fastened 
two whale-boats together by means of planks laid transversely 
upon them, thus forming a kind of large rail which could 
carry a considerable cargo at one time and which was towed 
to the shore by means ol a third and smaller boat. Everyone 
was kept busy at the work ol transport until late into the 
night, and at the close of the long day’s work we could rejoice 
in the knowledge that a large part of the supplies for the 
winter-station were piled up on the shore. 





104 


ANTARCTICA 


Besides superintending the discharge of this cargo, I was 
occupied during the time m drawing up reports and instruc¬ 
tions for the vessel and its personnel. It had been ananged 
that the Antarctic should leave as soon as possible alter our 
being set ashore, in order to go south to attempt to establish 
a depot in some suitable place, the doing of which would 
facilitate provisioning during our future sledge-journeys. 
My wish had been to accompany the vessel on this tiip, but I 
relinquished the design at the last moment. 

I gave a document to Captain Larsen which made him the 
leader of the expedition on board until such time as they 
should meet with Dr. Joh. Gunnar Andersson, and my detailed 
memoranda pointed out the chief tasks that part of the 
expedition had to undertake. These instructions were given 
m such general terms, however, that lull liberty of action was 
left to the two tried and prominent men who were to take 
the direction of things on board and to assume tlic 
responsibility lor the way m which this party should carry 
out their work. 

The task of landing the supplies continued the whole ol 
the following day. I had no time to go on land myself, 
but the ship’s carpenter, with the aid of some of the crew, 
began the erection of our winter house and, m the meantime, 
boat-load after boat-load was sent ashore, and by evening 
the greater part of our equipment was landed. The next 
day then, was to be our last one on board, but we had calculated 
on being able to dispose of the greater part of that time for 
the finishmg-ofi of the momentous task. 

I sat up writing until about three m the morning and 
then went to take a turn on deck before going to bed. The 
evening had been magnificent, and I do not remember, either 
before or since, ever having seen such intense colours in the 
sky. It was now beginning to grow light; it was a splendid 
morning and everything around lay still and silent. I ex¬ 
changed a few words with Reinholdz, the first mate, who had 
the watch and was walking to and fro. He pointed out 
to me a lot of ice which had commenced drifting m along 




Our things are taken on shore hy means of a raft made of 




106 


ANTARCTICA. 


the channel, but there seemed to be nothing which threatened 
any danger. Scarcely had I fallen asleep in my beith, how¬ 
ever, than the captain sent me word that the wind had begun 
to blow freshly from the north, and that masses of ice were 
drifting m towards us I was up at once and, ere many 
minutes had elapsed, everybody was hard at work again, for 
we must get aslioie the most important things, at least, of 
all that still remained. However, we could only land a part 
of our coal, but it was determined that the wintering-station 
party should take over the supply of petroleum which Mr. 
Stokes had brought with him for the purpose ol warming 
his hut. The ice came drifting in large pieces, and a sharp 
look-out had to be kept to prevent them from striking the 
vessel too violently. At first wo felt a little anxious, for a 
really large floe could have broken our chain-cable and carried 
us right on to the Snow Hill glacier. There were, naturally, 
a thousand things to think of ]ust at that moment; personal 
questions to be disposed of, commissions to be given to those 
who were going to stay on board, etc., and, in the meantime, 
the final boat-loads leit the ship on their long, time-wasting 
trips. The hours went by quickly, and soon wc saw the boats 
leave the shore again on their way to the vessel. For us 
who were to stay here there remained nothing more to do 
than to say “ Good-bye ! ” and leave for the land. 




CHAPTER vrr. 

THE FIRST WEEKS AT THE WINTERING-STATION. 

0Ur firsL weeks ai the wixUenng-stalion—Building operations—The first storm— 
The iL'tmn oE the Antantn —Flesh storms. 

The ice did not set in with the speed we hadjexpected, but 
they were ugly floes which came drifting along, and the 
captain grew anxious for us to go. The empty boats came 
back at last, and all that remained to be taken ashore— 
besides ourselves—was the dogs, some instruments and a 
few small things previously forgotten. We had also still 
to take the two boats which it. was lntendedjwe should keep 
at the station ; one being a pretty old, so-called Tromsoboat, 
a good sailer, in which I had myself made more than one 
journey, rowing and sailing, along the coast of Greenland; 
and, in addition, the little ice-boat which had been built 
specially for the expedition. They now lay moored to the 
side of the vessel, while the Antarctic weighed anchor and 
began to steam slowly out towards the channel, and after a 
short leave-taking we got into them and pushed off. It 




io8 ANTARCTICA. 

seemed a little strange to all of us, but there was no solemn 
faiewell m any case, nothing but a salute from the blue and 
yellow flag at the peak whilst we fell more and more astern. 
We had a burly long way to row, and when we. reached the 
land the Antarctic was alieady a great distance oil There 
wc stood, we six, deserted and alone , we who were to be the 
first settlers on that desolate strand. 

It was ebb-tide in the bay and a large number of blocks 
of ice, driven m by the north wind, had gone aground, so 
that we had a difficulty m making our way in with the boat, 
and no little trouble m getting our tilings up to the great 
depot which had picviously been made on the shore As 
soon as I could I hurried to the hill-top where the uprights 
of our future dwelling-house were alieady erected I had 
not been ashore since the building was commenced and had, 
as a matter of fact, thought of another hill, larther m, as the 
site of our building. But the matter could not now be helped, 
and we afterwards learned by experience that had wc chosen 
another place it could scarcely have been any more suitable. 

We sat for a minute amongst the goods in order to look 
at our surroundings and to deliberate upon the arrangement 
of our work We determined to begin with the erection 
of the magnetic observatory, which had been so constructed, 
that the building, which had been taken to pieces m Sweden, 
now merely needed to be put together again In this way 
we could, with very little work, get a house ready which would 
at least provide us with a roof above our heads. 

So we started by carrying the nineteen large parts which 
formed the observatory, to the destined place upon a low, 
level terrace about ioo yards Irani the house, in a situation 
which rendered it secure from every disturbing influence 
of objects made of iron. When once the necessary parts had 
been brought up and the work had well begun, the task was 
soon completed, and by twilight the house stood there; some¬ 
what provisionally fastened together it is true, hut in other 
respects ready to give us shelter for the night. 

There was plenty of room for all of us on the floor ol the 




The uprights of out future dwelling house were already laised upon the hill 




110 


ANTARCTICA. 


observatory and I slept there excellently after the first 
day’s work—a dreamless sleep, such as I had not enjoyed 
for a long time. When we wakened the next morning the 
weather was cold and raw, with new-fallen snow upon the 
ground, a thing I had not quite expected in these latitudes 
in the middle of summer, but then we had not yet made 
acquaintance with the climate. It would, perhaps, have 
been wiser had we first made the observatory quite ready, 
but we did not think about the matter as we were in such 
haste to get the dwelling-house m order. I had always been 
in hopes that we should have had effective help m this work 
on the pait of the ship’s crew, but unfortunately we did not 
get very much. Sobral and I spent nearly the whole day 
carrying up planks and otlier necessary materials from the 
shore, whilst the others went to work at the building of the 
house, and m the course of the afternoon so much progress 
had been made that wc could begin to nail on the boards 
of the gable-end of the building. We all of us felt quite 
proud of our day’s work when we went back to the obser¬ 
vatory in the evening. 

It was a piece of good fortune for us that the weather was 
so fine the next day. After having finished a thorough day’s 
work of the normal eight-hours’ type, nailing and hammering 
on walls and roof, I felt that I had the right to an afternoon’s 
walk up to the hill-top in order to take a survey of our king¬ 
dom and obtain some idea of the condition of the ice, and 
of the chances of the return of the vessel. My way lay up 
the steep ascent which I afterwards climbed so many times. 
What masses of magnificent fossils he scattered around !— 
but now I cannot wait, for I imagine that I shall have time 
in the future to examine them. After having ascended the 
last steep I find myself on the highest plateau, which has 
never before been trodden by human foot There is very 
much here to attract one’s attention ; it is a veiy pattern- 
card of the rocks of theMsland, varied here and there by 
blocks of foreign stone whose presence in the place demands 
its own explanation. There is so much which could chain 



FIRST WEEKS AT THE WINTERING-STATION in 

one to the spot, weie it not for the wish to go farther inland. 
The path leads along the edge of deep tavmes, mighty 
masses of rock use above the surrounding land, sometimes 
lesembhng fortresses with walls, battlements and toweis, 



Photo &y] [0- Borons 

The first meal in our improvised dining room on the shore. 

sometimes putting on fantastic forms—gigantic sphinxes amid 
the loose mass of earth I am tempted to carry the com¬ 
parison further, for aiound me stretches a wilderness more 
tenible than the Sahara. Nowhere is there a trace of vege¬ 
tation , not even the sand can lie in its place, for everything 



I 12 


ANTARCTICA 


that can be carried away by the storms is gone, so that the 
giound consists either of a closely packed mass of stones, or 
ot naked rocks which have received their form It om the action 
ol the wind. 

I go still further inland. To the south there extends 
before me an endless, slightly billowing plain of ice and snow 
That is Snow Hill—“ the dome of snow ”—afLer which I 
have called the whole island, although somewhat incon¬ 
gruously so, as it is not for the sake of the snow, but lor that 
of the snow-free land here, that this island has been chosen 
as the place for our wintering-station, thereby earning its 
title to remembiance by man in future times. I direct my 
steps to the place, foi from thence I shall have an unob- 
stiucted view on both sides. Towards the east my gaze 
flies acioss the boundless sea, winch is full of ice so broken 
up that the vessel should be able to force a passage through 
it without difficulty Neither is there much ice in Admiralty 
Sound, and it became evident that the hurried departure 
of the ship was somewhat unnecessary, although that could 
not be known at the time 

I stood there amid the grandeur ot the scenery, while the 
sun sank slowly behind the haughty, ice-covered crown of 
Mount Haddington, and gilded the ice-field far away on the 
eastern horizon No sound was to be heard around me ; 
one could not be more alone, more isolated. This desert 
spot is to be, for a long time forward, home, everything, 
for me, for my companions ! Here we shall stand lace to 
face with Nature m its mightiest majesty, and, combatting 
with it, shall strive to make it reveal to us its many secrets. 
Shall we succeed ? At the moment I felt a strong faith m 
the future, everything lay bright and promising before me, 
I felt full of gratitude at being at last able to begin our real 
work; that work which, it is true, would not result in the 
discovery of any far-stretching land, but work which ought 
to form the foundation of scientific investigation, and such 
investigation was the chief aim of the expedition. 

The dusk was deepening rapidly when I returned. I 



r— t 

Station-house at Snow Hill 
Vertical section, and plan of groimd-flooi 

Lengths given in inches, 


8 





































ANTARCTICA 


114 

stopped for a moment on the extreme edge, and looked down 
into the deep valley where our house was erected I could 
scarcely distinguish the loans of my companions, but I heard 
the blows of the hammer which bore witness to the fact that 
they had not yet left off work, and I was soon down amongst 
them once more. 

The next three days passed without any incident ol note, 
although it is true that every hour brought ns something or 
other that was new. By the 17th February we had made 
such progress with our building that we could move in our 
kitchen-utensils and take our first meal in the house, which 
great event was honoured by the drinking of a glass oi 
Swedish punch. We did not make very many speeches 
during the time we were alone at Snow Hill, but on this 
occasion I said a few words to my comrades expressive of 
my hopes of a good result of our endeavours, of hearty 
collaboration in our work, of good-fellowship under that 
roof, and also expressive of my conviction that everyone 
would do his best to ensure the fulfilment of these ex¬ 
pectations. 

The house, the opening of which was thus celebrated, was 
constructed from plans which had been made for Amdrup’s 
first wintering-party expedition to East Greenland. The 
members of that party were live in number ; m our own 
case, I had increased the space to a trifling extent, so as to 
find accommodation for six persons ; some modifications and 
improvements also had been made. The exterior dimensions 
were, roughly : length 21 feet, breadth 131 feet. The house 
had double walls of f-inch boards, with an intervening layer 
of air ; the roof was a single one. The whole of the outside 
of the house, both walls and roof, was covered with tarred 
paste-hoard, and all the outer walls ol the dwelling-rooms 
had been covered interiorly with the same material. The 
floor was double, with a layer of tarred paste-board between 
the planks, and it was covered with a carpet of thick felt, 
on top of which was laid linoleum. The entrance to the 
house was through a little porch which at least prevented 



FIRST WEEKS AT THE WINTERING-STATION 115 

the snow and the storms from forcing a way in direct, 
when the door was opened We often thought that this 
porch could ]ust as well, or even bettei, have been extended 
so as to form a corridor along the whole front of the house, 
where suclv a 100m would have been useful to us in very 
many respects 

Our chief store-room consisted of the loft, which occupied 
all the upper part of the house. As the roof was a single 
one, it was, of course, always cold up there, hut still this 
garret helped considerably in keeping it warm indoors. On 
the ground floor there were five rooms, which, however, were 
pretty small ones ; the largest of them was situated in the 
middle of the house and occupied its whole breadth, and on 
each side lay two small rooms, one of which formed our 
kitchen and the other three our bedrooms. I shall return 
in another chapter to describe our indoor life. 

On the evening of the 19th February we had, as usual, 
gone to bed in the observatory, after having finished our 
day’s work. I was awakened very early the next morning 
by the howling of the storm, but paid no attention to the 
noise and only crept farther into the warm sleeping-bag. 
But at half-past six it began to grow worse than ever; the 
snow came driving in through the cracks of the door, and 
Jonassen got up to see if everything was all right with the 
dwelling-house. Bodman and Akerlund went out too after 
some time, whilst we others still lay indoors, although I 
could not think of any more sleep. Suddenly I saw how 
the south edge of the loot above us was lifted now and then 
by the force of the wind a foot or so from its place, and it 
flashed into my mind that the house was about to fall in. 
I jumped up, roused Ekelof and Sobral by telling them to 
get up at once if they did not wish to be buried under the 
ruins, and went outside after half-dressing myself. Ugh ! 
such summer weather it was, to be sure ! It blew a hurricane, 
such as we had by the hundreds afterwards and learned to 
grow careless of, for there even came a time when we paid no 
attention to such trifles; hut now it felt different when we 

8 * 



I! 6 ANTARCTICA 

were~first making acquaintance with the terrible severity 
ol the Antarctic climate. The velocity of the wind was 
about 20 metres per second (45 E. miles per hour), and the 
thermometer showed — xo° C. (14'’ F.) ; one could stand erect, 
but with difficulty, and the air was a thick, whirling mass of 
fine snow-dust which rushed past with the speed of an express ; 
so dense was the snow-cloud that we could not even see the 
dwelling-house when but a hundred yards off. I made my 
way thither, and the four of us there worked assiduously 
at tightening doors and windows, and at taking other 
measures for obtaining some degree of protection against 
the storm Ekelof and Sobral came up directly afterwards 
and said they thought the observatory would weather the 
storm, but on Jonassen looking out half an hour later, the 
loof and one wall had given way. We had no other choice 
than to hurry away from our work indoors, dress ourselves 
as well as we could, and go down to the place to save what 
we might of the instruments there, no very light task m 
such a raging storm. Fortunately, the instruments proved to 
be as good as uninjured, and even a couple of watches which 
had been hanging on the wall were found unharmed amongst 
the ruins. 

While we stood there at the work, what was left of the 
walls gave way, and the whole of the observatory was trans¬ 
formed into a heap of pieces of wood lying on the ground. 
Nothing could be done for the time being, and as soon as we 
had rescued what we could, we returned to the dwelling- 
house and recommenced working there. We finished what 
was still left undone ol the floor and the inside walls, erected 
the greater part of these latter, and nailed card-board on to 
the north side of the house, where we made both rooms ready 
The window frames were protected with card-board firmly 
nailed on outside. It was a long, hard, toilsome day, but 
when, long after midnight, we thought of going to bed, we 
had the pleasure of knowing that we had made great progress . 
with the work. We now slept for the first time under our 
new roof, and with the feeling that we were sheltered, in 



FIRST WEEKS AT THE WINTERING-STATION, r 17 

some degiee at least, from all adversities of the weather I 
need not add that we slept well that night. 

During the preceding days we had now and then spoken 
ol the possibility of the return of the Antarctic and, although 
no one really believed in it, many longing looks were turned 
towards the bay during the couise of the 19th The stormy 
day that followed gave us no oppoitumty of keeping a look¬ 
out, but on the 21st I was the first on my legs (although it 
was about 10 m the forenoon) and, on getting outside the 
door, I saw to my great ]oy and astonishment the Antarctic 
making for the land, to which it was already quite near. I 
called to Ekelof, who had had his sleeping-place next to mine 
during the night, to “ come out and look at the sloop! ” 
and told him to waken the others, and they came out, drunk 
with sleep, and only half-believing, on to the hill-top 

I at once went down to the shore with Jonassen in order 
to make one of the boats clear, meaning to row out and 
meet the arrivals, but it proved to be unnecessary. First 
came Larsen and the scientists of his party in the little flat- 
bottomed pram, and, directly afterwards two of the ship’s- 
boats laden with about 30 sacks of coal It would be difficult 
to express with what joy I met the new comers, and I gave 
my especial thanks to the captain for this new proof of Ins 
interest m the welfare of the expedition. We all went hack 
to the house which spoke in unmistakable terms of the dili¬ 
gence we had displayed during the previous week, although, 
it is true, it did not present itself in such an attractive state 
that anyone could reasonably envy us the prospect of passing 
the winter there. Even the crew seemed to be glad that we 
had such good quarters, and nothing but expressions of good 
will and interest greeted us on all sides. 

Bodman, Ekelof and Sobral went on board the Antarctic 
at once, whilst the scientists of the vessel stayed on shore 
several hours, wandering about in the surrounding country. 

I hurriedly wrote a couple of letters and then accompanied 
the captain and the others when they returned to the ship. 
It was strange that such a short absence could give us such a 



118 ANTARCTICA. 

different view of everything Our narrow vessel now seemed 
so laige and commodious, so full of conveniences and comforts, 
that we fancied that we could scarcely recognise it again. 
And what a pleasure it was to wash oneself properly once 
more 1 I had various matters to arrange on board, where 
several of the crew plied me with questions which needed 
deciding, and then we took a hasty dinner composed of the 
choicest food there was at hand. This was followed by a 
cup of coffee and a glass of Swedish punch ; some words of 
farewell were exchanged and we separated, wishing each 
other all possible good during the months to come It may 
be supposed that our thoughts were serious ones, but, happily, 
none of us could divine that a long time was to pass ere we 
met each other once more ; that our dear old vessel should 
never return, and that none of us who now stayed behind 
should ever behold her again. The flag was hoisted in salute 
when we pushed off in our little boat ; I called for a hurrah, 
which was returned from the vessel, the steam-whistle gave 
us a last greeting, and—we were cut off from the world. 

As a matter of fact, it is not many people who have been 
so alone and isolated as we, if we consider how few we were m 
number, how completely impossible it was for us to liberate 
ourselves from our place of exile, or lo put ourselves into com¬ 
munication with the outer world. I knew that our equipment 
was good and complete, but then it was not one of the 
valuable, thoroughly complete sort that I should have 
wished to procure had the financial position of the expedition 
permitted of my doing so. The remarks in my diary, written 
immediately after the departure of the vessel, seem a little 
sad, but anxiety can nowhere be described, and they con¬ 
clude with the words that, so certainly as it was our duty to 
make every sacrifice in order to uphold the traditions of 
previous Swedish exploring expeditions, I was equally certain 
that our little circle could be fully relied on to do so. 

Unfortunately, the Antarctic had not succeeded in the 
attempt to establish a depot for us farther to the south. On 
the i6tli January the Antarctic had come to within 20 sea 



FIRST WEEKS AT THE WINTERING-STATION i 19 

miles of Christensen’s Island, but almost unbroken ice then 
lay between the vessel and the land, and, of course, a long 
sledge ] ourney could not be thought of under the circum¬ 
stances. They were, therefoic, obliged to give up all thoughts 
of attempting to penetrate faither southwards, as the small 
supply of coal on board made it an impossibility to think of 
forcing these masses of pack-ice. A few dredgings and sound¬ 
ings had been made. A most remarkable fact was, that large 
flocks of emperor-penguins had been met with , on several 
occasions as many as ten in a group, which had apparently 
come up at this time of the year from more southern regions. 

Once more alone, we immediately recommenced our work, 
which now mostly concerned the interior arrangement of our 
dwelling. But, unfortunately, we were not long allowed to 
devote ourselves undisturbed to these labours, for a fresh 
hurricane broke out on the night of the 23rd, and when 
we awoke m the morning the thermometer in our bed 
rooms showed but— 7° C (19*4° F.), and the walls inside 
were coated with snow. It was the same kind of weather as 
on the 20th, but now we were better protected, and, at first, 
took the whole matter very pleasantly But when the storm 
continued three days more, we began by degrees to find the 
matter somewhat more serious. And this was in reality our 
very first acquaintance with these terrible Antarctic hurri¬ 
canes, whose most distinguishing feature is that they are so 
persistent and lasting. During the whole of the time the 
temperature varied between — io° to —12 0 C. (14°—104° F.), 
while the velocity of the wind was about 20 metres (45 miles) 
per second. When it is remembered that we were still in 
the month which corresponds to August in the northern 
hemisphere, it can well be said that this weather was a little 
unexpected. The time went slowly, but everything was as 
yet so new to us, that we must have been in very bad spirits 
indeed had we been depressed by this little trial. Still, the 
hurricane shook the house; it was several degrees below 
freezing point 111 the rooms; we could not go out, and there was 
not much to keep us busy inside. 



120 


ANTARCTICA 


But this storm was to occasion us a still more serious mishap. 
On the evening of the 24th I had brought the Falkland bitch 
and her puppies into the dining-room, whilst the eight-day 
old Greenland whelps lay m their temporarily-constructed 
box down on the shore, where I thought they could manage 
very well now m the middle of the summer. On the following 
morning Jonassen went down to give them water, but in¬ 
stantly came back quite out of spirits and said that all the 
puppies lay there frozen to death. The mother had grown 
tired of being shut in, and, as the door was nailed-to, she 
had forced a wa}> out through the roof, leaving the young 
ones to their fate This was a hard blow to me, for I had 
placed great hopes on these animals, and I believe that had 
they survived they would have been of great service to us 
as draught animals, even by the following spring. Now it 
was plain that all the sledge journeys we might undertake 
would have to be done with the help of our four Greenland 
dogs, together with what little assistance could be given by 
the Falklands. 

We had now begun to be a little better acquainted with our 
dogs. On board they had only been numbers, which we saw 
once a day, standing fastened up in an out-of-the-way comer, 
or when they were let loose on deck ; they got a pat now and 
then, maybe, but otherwise they were scarcely noticed. 
During this time there grew up amongst them a kind of clan¬ 
ship, the animals which belonged to the same race uniting 111 
order to carry on warfare against the other dogs. Then the 
Falkland hounds had the best of it, in consequence of their 
superiority 111 number and their quickness of movement ; but 
here on shore it was quite another matter. The Greenlanders 
combined to form one staunch and compact troop, which, with 
most pronounced, carnivorous instinct, hunted down each 
wretched Falklander that dared to separate himself from his 
friends. When two of our dogs began fighting, the whole 
troop would at once rush up to help the stronger. No trace 
of chivalrous feeling could be observed, and when a Greenland 
dog bites he does so with emphasis. One after another the 



FIRST WEEKS AT THE WINTERING-STATION. 121 


Falklanders were bitten to death, the last of them being killed 
m this way fourteen months after our landing. 

Duiing [the storm the poor animals lay in the best 
shelter they could find, almost invisible from the snow which 
covered them and fastened in them coats. The drifting snow 
had been tremendously heavy the first two or three days, but 
it afterwards decreased somewhat, so that by degrees we 
-caught a glimpse of the blue sky. It was grand to stand out¬ 
side in the evening and look across the firth upon a wildly 


*4 



magnificent, lonely, golden-white picture, with the moonlight 
high in the zenith breaking through the driving masses of 

mist. _ 

“ Poor Antarctic, without coal and without ballast, you will 

be surely obliged to leave these regions! ” were the words I 
wrote in my diary during the course of one of these days, and 
even long afterwards, when we were expecting the vessel, it 
was this storm which formed the background, so to say, of the 
picture which our guessings formed of the fate which perhaps 
was hers. The day came when we were to learn how nearly 



122 


ANTARCTICA. 


our fears had been realised. After a vain attempt to round 
Jomville Island, the Antarctic had succeeded on the 24th 
February in coming out through the sound which bears its 
name, but m Bransfield Strait the storm had met her m all 
its terrific force , while, at the same time, the air was so im¬ 
penetrably thick that it was impossible to determine the ship’s 
whereabouts Attempts were made to moderate the waves 
by means of oil, but to little effect. Great seas broke inces¬ 
santly over the ship, one of them carrying away our fine new 
whale-boat, which had been built specially for the expedition, 
and at last it became almost impossible to keep the ship’s 
head to the wind. Everybody on board was told of the 
danger m which the vessel lay, and all knew that there was no 
possibility of safety should she come too near the South Shet- 
lands. After incredibly hard work, they succeeded, however, 
on the morning of the 27th in weathering the northernmost 
cape of King George Island, though at a distance of but four 
miles. The ship was now safe and could betake itself to milder 
climes, bearing information of the first summer’s work and 
of our landing at the foot of the icy cupola of Snow Hill. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

AN ADVENTUROUS BOATING JOURNEY. 

Exclusions in (he neighbomhood—Our boating-journey westward—Our first sledge- 
tiip—A dangeious situation—The journey home 

The month of March commenced with the finest weather we 
had experienced since our arrival in these regions. Our 
dwelling-house was now so far ready that we could leave the 
finishing of necessary, hut lesser, details to some future day. 
Jonassen went on with this work for a little while longer, how¬ 
ever, whilst we helped Bodman to put the scientific obser¬ 
vatories and their apparatus in order. The screens for the 
thermometers were erected on the 1st; on the 2nd we set up 
the anemometer, and on the following day the magnetic 
observatory was re-erected, but this time with the entrance 
towards the north—our lee-side, as we had discovered—and 
so it stood until the journey home. 

Then we got a few days of variable weather. When it was 
calm, new ice was formed at night out in the sound, to be 
broken up again by the wind. On the 4th we had a storm; 
on the 6th came a warm wind, winch made the thermometer 


124 


ANTARCTICA 


nse to +6° C. (42.8' F ), this being followed by as speedy a fall 
to freezing-point. I began to make short excursions in our 
immediate neighbourhood during my spare time, m ordei to 
study the physical features of the place and collect fossils ; 
the longest I made was one m company with Sobral, on Sun¬ 
day, March 9th—a ten hours’ journey southwards from Snow 
Hill. We started m brilliant sunshine; we came back from 
our wanderings high up on the hill-ridge, m the midst of a 
thick mist, and groping our way along by the aid of the morn¬ 
ing’s footprints. The snow was, as a rule, firm and hard, 
with uneven ridges, so that our ski were of no great use. The 
crevasses wc found were all of them very narrow. The 
greatest height attained was, according to the barometer, 
about 300 metres*, instead of 600 metres-)* as marked on the 
chart. We discovered three nunataks sticking up out ol the 
ice, which are not mentioned by Ross in his description of 
these parts. One is almost tempted to believe that the snow 
.must have considerably diminished m depth during the sixty 
years which have elapsed since his visit. This is, of course, 
difficult to prove, and it must also be acknowledged that it 
seems to be almost an impossibility for the snow to have 
melted so much in such a short space of time. The ice forms 
several hills, separated by deep depressions, and clearly seems 
to follow the topography of the underljdng ground. 

These little excursions were only preparatory to a more 
lengthy journey which I intended making ere the ice had 
gathered all the surrounding sea m its embrace. The house 
was now stayed and propped up, the tarred card-boaid had 
been nailed on, and the most important details of the fitting 
were in order. In the obseivatory there was now work for 
only Bodman himself, with the arrangement of the instru¬ 
ments We could await the future with calmness ; but, on the 
other hand, it was high time for us to start if we wished to 
use the boat for the journey, as I intended doing, for the 
Antarctic had not succeeded in establishing any dep6t, and 
it was only in a boat that we could take such a load as it would 
be necessary to have on this occasion. 


1,000 ft. 


I 2,000 ft 




We took advantage of the flood-tide to launch onr heavily laden boat. 


126 


ANTARCTICA 


I requested Sobral and Jonassen to accompany me. On the 
ioth we worked the whole day at getting the boat and our 
equipment in order, and we started early the next morning. 

There were two aims I had in view m undertaking this journey. 
The first was that already mentioned—the establishment of a 
large depot as far to the south as possible, and for this purpose 
we took, besides what we ourselves needed during the expedi¬ 
tion, seven boxes of the specially-packed boat- and slcdge- 
]Ourney provisions and about 80 kg (180 lbs.) oi dog-pemnn- 
can. As there was reason to suppose that we should not be 
able to reach the land itself with our boat, we took with us 
all the Greenland dogs, and Jim, one of our Falklanders, 
intending to test Ins usefulness 

But the other object of the journey was, that this should 
really be an exploring expedition. We had already learned 
so much from our place of observation on the heights near 
the station, that we knew that the map had not many points 
of resemblance to the leality. And even if we thus needed 
plenty of time to explore our nearest surroundings, still, the 
field of work was large, too, and in many respects much more 
might be done by means oi a boat journey than by our intended 
sledge expeditions. 

Taking advantage of high-water to launch our heavily-laden 
Tromso boat more easily, we started on our fiist long expedi¬ 
tion. It was a beautiful day, but a little too warm, perhaps, 
and we now and then caught breaths of these strange warm 
southerly winds for whose origin we could never fully satis¬ 
factorily account Otherwise the weather was almost quite calm, 
and the whole fiord lay covered with a thin coating of newly- 
formed ice, which made it rather difficult work rowing. We 
were obliged to take a winding course between close masses 
of low drift-ice, which was, however, high enough to prevent 
us from seeing our way, and this compelled us to stop every 
now and then and climb on to one of the highest of the pressure 
floes in order to get a view of our surroundings. Here and 
there on the ice there was a group of penguins looking at us 
with much curiosity, or a seal lying motionless and sunning 



AN ADVENTUROUS BOATING JOURNEY 127 

itself. This, too, was the only time that I saw the large Snow 
Hill glacier m all its splendour, viewed from the open water. 

By degrees we come nearer the other shore, the point which 
probably corresponds to what Ross calls Cape Hamilton. I 
note the geological conditions with great interest; the lower, 
softly-swelling hills which must certainly consist of sedimen¬ 
tary sandstones and slates, of the same kind as those of Snow 
Hill, and the higher, exceedingly wild rocks, which formed 
lofty cliffs. High up there rises a narrow, perpendicular 
ridge of rock, reminding one of a cyciopean wall, and ending 
anterioriy in a massive, mighty tower, which I have called 
the Watch Tower, from which one could look down upon 
tracts as yet unseen by human eye. Here we can quite con¬ 
vince ourselves that we are in an actual channel, divided into 
two by the large island lying before us—Lockyer Island. 
Ross says m the account of his voyage, that Snow Hill seems 
to be joined to the land opposite by a low mass of icc, which 
appeared to him to resemble a projecting glacier As far as I 
know, no such phenomenon exists m any other regions, and 
therefore I had already made up my mind that this theory of 
Ross’ was most improbable ; but now that I have made 
acquaintance with the conditions of the ice elsewhere along 
this remarkable coast, it seems to me not at all impossible that 
such a mass of ice may have existed in Ross’ time Should 
this supposition be correct it would be a fuither proof of the 
assertion that a milder climate now prevails m these regions 
than sixty years ago. 

We made rapid progress ; in a little while we were even 
able to use a sail, and by three o’clock we were pretty close to 
Lockyer Island Here it was my intention to establish our 
first depot, hut the place did not look very inviting at this 
distance, with its high, perfectly precipitous walls _of basalt¬ 
like rock and, here and there, great glacier masses with perpen¬ 
dicular terminations. However, there seemed to he open 
water the whole way in, and we fancied we should be sure 
of finding some place where we could leave all that we wished. 

But what strange noise is that which comes towards us in 



ANTARCTICA. 


12S 

the silence ? At first it sounds like a low, almost indiscernible 
ciackling and rustling, which gradually grows 111 strength, 
and at last becomes a mighty, protracted, lumbling loar, like 
that of the sea on the approach of a storm A look ahead 
shows us that the ice is m movement and is driving onwards 
to meet us m one immense, irresistible, wall-like mass. It is 
genuine pressure ice, with wildly towering ice-blocks which, 
from our little boat, seem to be mountain-high ; no vessel 
could force a passage here It rushes onwards like a tidal 
wave, throwing out long tongues, mostly towards the western 
land. We can do nothing but turn immediately and scud 
rapidly away—no difficult task as wc drive as fast as the ice 
itself. It was the mighty wave of the spring-tide which had 
put the ice in motion, forming a maelstrom which now carried 
our boat along with it. At first we tried to row in towards 
the nearest land to the west, but the ice moved too 
rapidly and we could not reach the place we wished to. Then 
we turned to the east again, towards the other side of the 
island, but there was too much ice here too, although it had 
now commenced to stop drifting, and the current now only 
carried the ice-blocks round in a whirling dance. The evening 
was coming on, and for the moment it was impossible to think 
of landing on the island with our heavily-laden boat. Neither 
could we wait for the change m the direction of the current 
when the tide turned, for then it would be dark, so we were 
obliged to make up our mmds to steer westwards once rnoie, 
and, finally, we landed on a low solid ice-foot a mile or two 
south of Cape Hamilton and about half-a-niile from the 
shore. We drew the boat up on to the ice and pitched our 
tent, made a good meal of bovril-penunican and cocoa, after 
which we passed a quiet night in our three-man sleeping-bag 
of reindeer skin. 5 

We were early afoot the next morning, for we meant to 
make a serious effort to force a way through the masses of ice 
But unhappify it appeared that the tide-currents of the pre- 
yious night had affected .them but little ; they lay impene¬ 
trable as before between us and the island, and rowing was 



AN ADVENTUROUS BOATING JOURNEY 129 

but further impeded by the crust ot newly-formed ice on the 
water We were not so equipped that we could make our 
way onwards with the boat under such circumstances, and I 
determined to go forwards towards the eastern wall of ice 
which forms the continuation of Snow Hill Land, and which 
appeared possible of ascent just at this point, and we should 
thus be able to get a view southwards. There was no ice to 
impede us and we made our way without difficulty up the 
ice-slope, which was about five yards high. On going on a 
little farther I found that we were on a piece of ice, separated 
from the land-ice by a narrow fissure over which was a snow- 
bridge It was clearly an iceberg m process of formation, 
which would be lifted by some future very high tide and be 
set free, and it explained how the great bight m the ice- 
barrier had arisen However, I obtained from this spot a 
good survey of our surroundings, and saw that some distance 
further m a little nunatak stuck up out of the ice. We could, 
of course, have made our way to the place, but it would have 
been of little use to establish a depot there. The ice appeared 
to lie pretty loose all the way to Loclcyer Island, but it 
would certainly have cost us much labour to force a 
passage thither. But m the west, whence we had come, 
theie lay a level surface of ice which seemed to promise ex¬ 
cellent ground for our dog-sledge, while the coast, as far as was 
visible, trended to the south-west; the wisest thing we could 
do, then, was to return there and look for a suitable situation 
for the establishment of our depot. 

We rowed slowly between the drifting floes, first along the 
edge of the ice and then across the sound, without experiencing 
on that day’s change of tides anything like the episode of 
the preceding evening. A slow current carried the ice north¬ 
wards, however, and the floes were large, so that we had much 
work, both with oars and ice-hooks, m making our way amongst, 
and sometimes over, them When at last we landed on the 
fast ice at about three m the afternoon, we found a number 
of preserved-food tins and bits of paper lying scattered about, 
a few steps from our landing place, and saw that after an 

9 



130 


ANTARCTICA 


unpleasant day of haid work we had leturned without result 
to the veiy spot we had left m the morning. 

It was not our intention to make any long trip with the 
dog-sledge , neither was the period of the year seasonable for 
so doing, and, m order to lose no time, we determined to use 
the remaining hours of the day m bearing the contents of 
the intended depot to the place we had pitched upon, which 
was situated behind a far-projecting promontory. We soon 
loaded the sledge with what we meant to take—dog-pemmican, 
four boxes of sledge-journey provisions, a tank of petroleum, 
etc., weighing altogether about 230 kg (500 lbs.). We ate 
nothing but a bit of chocolate and staited at once, it being 
our first attempt at driving dogs m these regions. All the 
dogs went well over the smooth ice, even Jim proved not at 
all so impossible, although he tried a couple of times to release 
himself by biting through the traces 

The coast here forms a mighty promontory sloping almost 
perpendicularly to the sea ; it consists of a peculiar land of 
rock, with which I now made acquaintance for the first time, 
and which plays a very prominent role throughout this tract; 
it is an unstratified tuff containing numerous fragments of 
lava and in this place, remarkably enough, a number of 
spherical crystals of pure olivine We stored 0111 clepdl on 
the solid slope of the hill and thought that we had done the 
work very well, for w 7 e were quite certain of always J&nding 
our provisions unless a land-slip occurred. 

When these cares were over I climbed the mountain-side 
in order to obtain a view southwards. The land just here 
goes for some distance 111 an almost westerly direction, but 
then suddenly ceases, and the eye meets nothing else before 
it than the endless white surface of the ice. The sun had 
just disappeared beneath the horizon, but a rosy shimmer 
was still thrown over the icy wall of Snow Hill and over the 
whole of the southern horizon and these unknown regions 
which lay before us, so inviting and yet so inaccessible. A 
strange light, with heavy, leaden-coloured and purple clouds, 
was gathering in the south-west, but I cannot say that I liked 




It was oui fiist attempt at driving dogs in these legions, 









ANTARCTICA 


132 

its appearance. A few seals lay out on the ice uttering 
weird, complaining sounds from time to time We were 
obliged to hurry back to where we had left the boat, 111 order 
not to be overtaken by the dark, and on our arrival were 
pmdent enough to draw the boat farther up on to the ice, 
a precaution which probably saved our lives. 

We raised our tent m lee of the boat, made a little soup 
and soon crept into the sleepmg-bag. A little longer sojourn 
m these regions taught us to understand the significance of 
nature’s warnings, such as now presented themselves to us— 
the warm south winds, the rapid fall of the barometer, the 
peculiar light in the south-west—but as yet we had no idea 
what these things foreboded. We had scarcely entered 
the tent ere the storm came on. The boat was, oi course, a 
good protection, and vve did not feel the storm much when in¬ 
side our sleeping-bags, but at home, on Snow Hill, the anemo¬ 
meter-wire was torn off when the hurricane had lasted a 
couple ol hours, the velocity then being 26 metres per second 
(58 miles per hour). But it felt cold, m any case, lying there, 
and it is not such an easy thing to sleep m the same bag 
as two other men ; habit, acquired by long practice, is needed 
ere one can enjoy such slumber. The inconvenience of the 
companionship is marked most when the weather is cold 
and each wishes to creep to the bottom of the sack and then 
lies there crosswise, or m some other unauthorized position. 
So we slept badly enough, but thought, all the same, that we 
were very well off where we were, and, when the day dawned, 
still lay there without making any sign that we intended to 
leave our bed 

But all our dreams were suddenly interrupted by 
Jonassen, who lay on the side nearest to the ice, and who 
suddenly jumped up exclaiming that the water was making 
its way into the tent. And he was right, for the storm had 
broken the ice and flung the waves in across that part of it 
on which we were encamped, right up to the edge of the tent. 
It needed but a second to put on the few clothes we had 
taken off and to rush out. First casting aside the smaller 



AN ADVENTUROUS BOATING JOURNEY. 133 

articles, we all took a firm grasp of the boat and with a 
simultaneous exertion ol strength soon had it hauled so far 
up that we were safe, for the moment at least. It was 
fortunate that the incident had not taken place during the 
night, m which case it is impossible to say what might have 
happened. 

We did not dare to rest many minutes before again removing 
the boat and our things. It was well we did so, for a little 
later the storm broke off our piece of ice along a crack just 
about where we were standing a few minutes before We 
continued pulling up the boat and carried it altogether a 
distance of about 300 metres, which gave us work enough. 
There were a number of fissures m the ice, which occasioned 
us some uneasiness, but otherwise it was very solid, and it 
afterwards proved to have suffered very little from the 
storm. 

We had no thermometer with us, but at the station they 
had -18 0 C (-0.4° F ) ; the velocity of the wind has already 
been mentioned. The storm came howling from the south¬ 
west, sweeping before it immense masses of snow, so that one 
could seldom catch a glimpse of the high land which lay but 
half-a-mile away. Perhaps it might have been possible for 
us to erect our tent again in lee of the boat, but we dared 
not do so after our late experience, for we could easily imagine 
the ice breaking along a fissure farther in and then drifting 
out to sea with us We had no winter clothes with us ; we 
could with more reason be said to be dressed for autumn 
weather. I crept into the boat under protection of the sail 
and endeavoured to cook a little food, but even there it was 
cold work sitting still. Jonassen walked to and fro, trampling 
down a deep grave by the side of the boat, whilst Sobral 
stood somewhat quieter. The dogs had crept as deep down 
into the snow as they could. It was a long day, but anxiety 
shortened the hours for us to a degree we could never have 
expected We were m doubt as to what we should do for 
the mglit, but we had scarcely any other choice than to remain 
by the boat and make ourselves as comfortable as we could. 



134 


ANTARCTICA 


We succeeded m putting up the tent and spread out our 
sleeping-bag, which was now quite wet and frozen through, 
but we crept into it fully dressed, at about luilf-past sc'von 
m the evening. 

Sobral got a finger frost-bitten, which ached very much ; 
Jonassen had his feet quite wet; lay there complaining over 
it, and would not leave the tent. I kept a kind of watch 
until midnight, that is, I sometimes sat up inside the tent 
and sometimes went out into the storm, which, m the darkness, 
was still more awful and more wild. A hundred paces away 
nothing could be seen of the boat, and so T was unable to go 
as far as was needful in order to examine the edge of the ice. 
But as, from where 1 stood, I could detect no cause for alarm, 
and as, in any case, no look-out could save us in the event 
of a sudden catastrophe, I went to bed for good and all aboui 
12 o’clock and really managed to get a little sleep, although 
the others afterwards said they had not succeeded in doing 
so. 

At halt-past five Jonassen waked me with the intelligence 
that the wind seemed to be abating, and that the sky was 
clearer, hut I lay an hour longer in the sleeping-bag, after 
which I got up and made coffee, for the whole party. The. sun 
was then shining brightly and the horizon was quite free Irom 
clouds. The velocity of the wind was considerably diminished, 
although it still blew freshly. The sea, which had not made 
any very visible inroads on the ice, lay quite clear right up 
to the island. Had we had such a sea as now lrom lhe 
beginning, and good weather into the bargain, it would have 
been an easy task to reach the place and afterwaids to 
survey the whole country southwards, but now we. could 
not even think ol doing so. It was dismal work enough to 
rise, our clothes, having thawed inside the sleeping-bag, 
froze again directly we came into the open air. The “ Primus ” 
petroleum-stove would not burn, and I was obliged to go 
out and look lor the cleaning-wire, but all was to no use, and 
I had to go out once more and search for the ordinary 
petroleum-stove, which was quite buried in the snow. At 




Our camping-place off Loclcyer Island 






ANTARCTICA 


136 

last I managed to get the stove to burn and breakfast was 
soon ready 

During this tune Jonassen had dug the boat out of the 
snow, but there still remained the labour of cairying it and 
all our things down to the shore, so that it was nearly ten 
o’clock before we started. It was still liardoi work to get 
clear of the ice. The wind blew violently 011 to the land 
and seas broke incessantly ovci the boat; Jonassen got 
his Jrngeis frost-bitten, and it was only by exerting our 
strength to the utmost that, at the very last minute, we 
succeeded in passing the great glacier south of Cape Hamilton. 
Had we been driven in such weather against that upright 
wall of ice our chance of safety would have been as small as 
if the ice had broken up under us during the night while we 
lay sleeping in the tent. 

But once in open water we made rapid progress. We had 
reefed our sail as much as possible, but it was still too large, 
and so we hoisted only a part of it, while the lower end dragged 
after us in the water. It must have been a peculiar picture 
had anyone seen us scudding beloie the storm-wind thus 
strangely equipped. Jonassen took the helm and Sobral 
and I attended to the sail. Only now 'and then did a band 
of sludge and fragments of ice hinder our journey a little. 
The whole journey home occupied little more than three 
hours, for by midday we rounded the corner of the Snow 
Hill glacier and saw betore us the little black house which, 
even after this short expedition, was in our eyes the repre¬ 
sentative of good living, of luxury, of civilization. It was 
low wafer, so that we could not come 111 with the boat, but had 
to wade to the edge of the ice in order to put our tilings 
ashore, and there we were soon welcomed by our comrades, 
who had doubtlessly thought of us with some degree ol anxiety 
duiing the preceding day of storm. 

The hurricane had done much damage at home, too. Flood- 
tide on the 12th had been unusually high, so that it became 
necessary to cany up from the dep6t on the shore a number of 
things which were more liable to damage than the others. 



AN ADVENTUROUS BOATING JOURNEY 137 

The house, however, had withstood the tempest staunchly, but 
the windows to windward had to be nailed up. 

The chief aim of the expedition had been attained ; a good 
depot had been established on the mainland, as a help for us 
on future journeys and a source ol security on such occasions 
when there was reason to fear being cut off from our own 
island. Wo had also done some reconnoitring; I had made 
acquaintance with that level ice over which our future sledge 
journeys southwards—journeys many days’ marches long— 
should be undertaken. We had learned with certainty that 
Admiralty Bay, as it was called, was a sound; that Snow 
Hill was an island, and we now knew the chief features of the 
physical geography of the region immediately suirounding us. 



133 


CHAPTER IX. 

WAITING FOR WINTER. 

Conclusion of the bmlchng-wcnk—Our scientific lulioms -Out <lvvt‘llinj'-li«msc and 
its fittings—Dietary regulations—Sledge journey to Soyinoiu Island. 

IT was lot lunate that we had 
not allowed anything to entice 
us to lengthen our expedition, 
ior the days which immediately 
followed our return weie. also 
accompanied by bad weather, 
and wo should thus have been 
unable to do anything of use. 
At home we continued our pre¬ 
parations for the winter, but the 
most important details of Hie 
outdoor work were now com¬ 
pleted. Jonassen built a house 1 
of planks lor the dogs, a neces¬ 
sary shelter in this climate, for 
the Falklaudcrs at least; then 
he took in hand the erection of the astronomical observatory 
and the arrangement of our effects, at which work I assisted 
him. We made a continuation of the. porch by setting up a 
row of bread-barrels above which we laid provision-boxes, so 
that we got a kind of outer corridor, although wo had not 
sufficient materials to make anything which could be at all 
compared with the complete outer wall which Peary built 
around his dwelling-house. But we got, in the way I have 




WAITING FOE WINTER, 


139 


just described, a 111 tie well-sheltered corner, which received 
the inviting name ol “ the arbour.” It was afterwards taken 
possession oi by the dogs, who there found excellent shelter 
against the storms. 

In addition to this, the greatei part of our supplies were 
piled up on the north side—the lee side—of the house But 
in order not to run the danger of losing all our provisions in 
case of a fire, I made two depots at some distance off, the one 
consisting of our specially-packed sledge-journey provisions, 
the other of a number of articles of food and other necessaries 
chosen for the purpose. The supply of petroleum was also 
stored up at some distance from the house. 

Thus day after day passes in such labours, and we come 
nearer and nearer to the fust winter ever spent by human 
beings m these tracts. The days grow shorter and shorter, 
the sun at noon stands lower and lower in the northern heavens, 
the air outside grows colder and colder. It is true that the 
latitude where our station lies is all too northerly for us to 
fear the terrors of the real polar-night, for even m midwinter 
the sun remains more than lour hours above the horizon. But 
even had we ever dreamed that we consequently need not 
experience the feelings awakened by wintering in North Polar 
regions, still we had long ago begun to suspect that the natural 
forces with which we should here have to contend would occa¬ 
sion us extraordinarily great difficulties in other respects. 

Each of us had by this time gradually become taken up 
with the scientific work for the sake of which we had made all 
these arrangements, all these sacrifices, and which had given 
rise to this wintering-station of ours As a matter of fact, one 
should not, in this connection, speak of “ sacrifices,” but it 
would be difficult for those who have never made the experi¬ 
ment to imagine with what zeal and with what interest such 
work is carried out, when one knows that it is the first time 
such labours are performed in a region which is as large as a 
small continent Everything is new, everything is interesting 
—the weather, the movements of the instruments, the life of 
organisms in the course of their development at different 



140 


ANTARCTICA. 


seasons of the year—and it is not necessary to go on long expe¬ 
ditions m order to learn all this ; at home, at the station, one 
is always ignorant of what new and surprising things the 
morrow can-biing forth. 

And thus we had zealously commenced to attack our woik. 
The most important of these were the magnetic and meteoro¬ 
logical observations which had to be earned out in agreement 
with the international scheme of work. It was Hodman who 
had charge of these, and Sobral undertook to be his first 
assistant. Bodman had, however, assumed the sole cluuge 
of the magnetic labours for the present, and during the 
month of March lie was mostly occupied with the erection of 
tlie variation instrument. 

In respect to magnetic observations, it is just the polar- 
tracts which are of the greatest interest, but the. southern pole 
has hitherto been very little studied. The most prominent 
scientific authorities have over and over again exj missed the 
opinion that the absence of accurate investigations in the 
Antarctic regions rendered all real progress in respect to the 
theory of terrestrial magnetism quite impossible, and all 
attempts to determine for any length of time the position ol the 
magnetic powers on the surface of the earth quite, unavailing. 
And such questions are, when they bear upon the variation of 
the compass, of the very greatest pi action! importance. The 
international scheme of work embraced observations con¬ 
cerning changes in decimation, inclination, and magnetic hori¬ 
zontal intensity These observations weie to be carried out 
by means of variation instruments on the isl and the 15II1 
of each month, and should last the entire four-aud-twenly 
houis, with observations every whole hour according to Green¬ 
wich tune, Thus when we were busied here with such observa¬ 
tions we knew that similar ones were being earned out, not only 
by our sister-expeditions and on Kerguelen and Staaten 
Islands, but also at all observatories in the southern Half of the 
globe, and at some in the northern. 

In addition to the ordinary variation instruments, the 
German and English Expeditions were provided with a series 




The magnetic observatory. 



142 


ANTARCTICA. 


of sell-icgistcring apparatus, by means of which an unbroken 
sequence ol observations could be obtained with a moderate 
amount of laboui I should gladly have proem od similar 
instruments, but had no oppoi tunity of doing so. But we had, 
instead, m accordance with arrangements made with the 
observatory on Staaten Island, determined to extend the scope 
of our work, so that, in addition to the work entailed by tins 
scheme mentioned above, we were to cany out observations on 
the Tuesdays and Fridays ol evciy third month, beginning 
with April. [,{! 

As a matter of fact, each observation should not have occu¬ 
pied more than two minutes, but as at the beginning we weie 
not quite sure ol oui Greenwich time, we were obliged to 
lengthen them to as much as eight minutes. 

Just at present, the meteorological observations—in which 
all the scientists took part—were of much gieatei geueial 
interest. A couple of thermometrical screens were, ejected on 
the hill outside the house, m one of which weie placed a self¬ 
registering thermograph and a hygrometer loi the determina¬ 
tion of the temperature and humidity of the air, ancl in the 
other, thermometers of different kinds. On a shelf in the 
dining-room stood a self-registering barograph, and a mercurial 
barometer hung in there as well. A hill 220 feet above the 
station had been fixed upon as the site of the anemometei,* 
this instrument registering the velocity of the wind upon a 
strip of paper by means of an eleetiic wire, the paper going 
round a wheel set in motion by a clock which lmng upon the 
dining-room wall. 

In addition to these we had a scli-rcgisteiing sunshine 
recorder, and every hour we took observations of the direction 
of the wind and cloud-formation. In the beginning, when we 
had so many other things to do, we contented ourselves with 
making these observations duiing the daytime only, Bodmau 
and Sobial then took turns, one day at a time, at making four 
complete observations of all the instruments, viz., at 7 and 

* This place afterwards proving unsuitable, the anemometer was iamoved to a 
little hill just below our dwelling-house. 



WAITING FOR WINTER 


>43 


8 a.m., and 2 and 9 p.m. But towards the middle of Apiil 
night observations were also taken, and then each of us had 
to take it in turns to sit up till two m the morning ; no observa- 



Photobiji [0. Hodman 

The thermometer screen (with thermograph and hygiometei and 
an evaporation gauge on the roof ) 


tion was taken at 3 a m., but a new man took observations at 
4 and 6 a.m., alter which the day was supposed to begin, 

As soon as we had the house in order, Ekelof set up his 
bacteriological apparatus and commenced his investigations. 
These chiefly concerned the bacterial flora of the surface soil, 



ANTARCTICA 


14 A 

a domain which no one had ever endeavoured to explore, even 
in North Polar legi&ns Interesting results were obtained from 
the very beginning; results which showed that in these regions 
the surface soil must almost be considered as the place of 
ongm of bacteria, and results which, puisued dining diffoient 
seasons and with regard to different kinds of earth, have given 
rise to wholly new ideas concerning the conditions ol bac¬ 
terial life within the Polar regions. 

The one who was most hindered in his work was myself, 
although it is true that I had fossils in great numbers on eveiy 
side, and that just at this time 1 made great collections of them. 
It was, however, my intention to make a careful examination 
of the tract m connection with an accurate mapping-out of the 
district, but I had been hoping to have many fine days during 
the autumn at my disposal, and, perhaps, in these knv 
latitudes, some in the winter too. Our second wintei cam¬ 
paign has shown that these hopes were not umeasonablo, but 
such weather as we now had, and which I shall describe moie 
fully m the next chapter, really did not offer many opportunities 
for carrying out this work. One can grow accustomed to cold, 
so that measurements can still be taken, but a storm lcndeis 
this absolutely impossible, and wind ol oven moderate velocity, 
together with cold, prevents almost all outdoor work ol ob¬ 
servation. 

The remainder of the month of March presented no remark¬ 
able features, if we except the closing days of severe storms 
and a temperature of - 2 o° C. (-4" P.). We had previously 
had fine weather, but on Easter-Pve I was awakened by 
the well-known hollow booming of the hurricane Iron) the 
south-west. The house shook, the stays and the eai d-board 
hammered and banged, and I lay there with the peculiar feel¬ 
ing one has when one knows oneself to be protected against 
the weather, but still asks with disquiet how long this slate 
of security will last. As a proof of the violence of the storm, 
it may be mentioned that a large box, quite lull of fossils, 
which stood by the steps, was blown down from the slope 
and all the specimens strewn around. 



WAITING FOR WINTER 


145 

Our life indoors was not at all dull. During tlie day I lay 
in my berth and read , we lived very harmoniously together, 



Photo l if] [E EjuadP. 

A wall of the dining-room, with some of the bacteriological apparatus, 

and conversation could be heard going on in every comer of 
the house. We kept Easter-Eve* with the usual eating of rice- 

* In Sweden such feasts as May-Eve, Easter-Eve, and Midsummer-Eve are kept 
with a warm fidelity to ancient usages forgotten, or almost so, in England,—Thror. 

IO 









ANTARCTICA. 


146 

poiridge, in addition to a specially-prepared egg-cakc with 
preserved fruits and fruit-syrup sauce, followed by coffee, 
with Swedish punch, toddy, mineral water and all manner of 
sweetmeats. We forgot both storm and snow, while wc 
called up recollections of former Easter-Evcs and chatted with 
free hearts to each other. 

As happened very often during the storms about this time, 
the self-registering anemometer would not act just this evening, 
and so we determined to keep watch in turns and take observa¬ 
tions with the hand-anemometer. Bodman was up till 3 a.m,, 
and I got up at 4, to find that the wind had fallen con¬ 
siderably, and that the moon was shining clearly, in company 
with some large stars. At daybreak I took a turn down to 
the shore, The ice had been broken to pieces, but further 
out it stilt formed narrow belts and streaks. The waves broke 
with hurricane-like force amidst the rounded blocks of ice 
by the shore, and it would not have been advisable toi anyone 
to have approached the glassy masses too nearly as long as 
the storm lasted. Sea, ice, and the great icebergs out in the 
sound are faintly discernible ; on the farther shore, fell and 
glacier peep out from under the curtaining mist, to be 
illumined by the pure, faint violet of the dawn. It is such an 
Easter morn as one can only think of as breaking amidst Polar 
regions, amidst the very wildest forces of Nature. 

In this way pass the days of our sojourn here, the one after 
the other, The arrangement oi the interior of our house lias 
been completed long ago ; all that remains to be done is to 
make the small improvements which experience now and then 
suggests to us. Wc began to make everything around us as 
cosy as possible. I had brought with me, for myself and 
the other members of the expedition, a number of trifles such 
as pictures, small ornaments, mats, embroidered table-cloths 
and cushions, and we had procured a few simple, rcd-chcquered 
window-curtains, which we fastened up with gaily-coloured 
ribbons and gold-cord tassels. Colour is a thing one longs for 
in this place, where Nature offers so little in that way. But 
all attempts to remedy this want led to a miserable fiasco, and 




Fhm hy] ( [N’ORDENSK.ftiLl) 

Hodman sitting at work al the dining-table 
On tile wall can be seen the baiogiaph, evaporimeter, the registering apparatus of 
the anemometer, the paper foi the sunshine recorder, an aneroid, etc 

IO* 









ANTARCTICA. 


148 

no long time passed ere we completely lost all interest m the 
matter. There were three enemies which bi ought about this 
sorrowful result'—the smoke from the kitchen, the damp, and 
the mildew. Whether we kept up ora fire with coal 01 fat, the. 
result was the same; there perpetually rose 1 sooty, sticky 
fumes which settled on all our things, and penetrated into the 
remotest corners. By degrees ovciything assumed a greyish 
tinge : walls, ceiling, photographs, and curtains, the books 
on the shelves and the clothes we woio But we note it little 
m the bustle oi each day’s work, for it does its work gradually, 
and it is divided so equally that there is nothing in the house 
which can serve as a means ol comparison, foi eveiylhing is 
dirty. But stay ! Thci c were some things we saw a lew times 
—some new packs of cards, taken It 0111 their hiding-place in 
a chest—which brought hack the memory of a thing called 
cleanliness ; we sat and enjoyed the sight of the coloured 
figures as though they weie masterpieces by some 1 unowned 
artist. 

Damp and mildew are still more unpleasant. Vapour is 
condensed on the walls, and on waking in the morning we see 
these clad in gliilering white masses ol snow and ice, which 
radiate from every little nail-head in the. card-board. This 
snow and ice melts duiing the course of the day, and the watei 
sinks into the card-board, which is transformed by degrees into 
a sticky mass. The same thing happens to all the (hiugs which 
hang on the wall. The damp soaks into them and whether 
they be clothes or pictuies they are quite wet to the touch, 
In some rooms my comrades simply tore down Llie card-board, 
hoping that then the moisture would not make its presence 
felt so much. I adopted quite an opposite plan, and tried to 
cover the card-boaid with whatever I could come across that 
was suitable for the purpose. Linoleum was of no use at all, 
but blankets and carpels I found very serviceable, and they 
also gave the rooms a warmer and pleasanter appearance. 
Unfortunately we had not very much material we could use 
as tapestry 

When such was the state of things on the walls it was, of 













ANTARCTICA 


ISO 

course, many times worse in the corners and along the floor. 
All the moisture which runs down from the' walls gathois there 
and freezes, not to thaw again for a considerable time. In this 
way a great cake of ice is formed, which grows larger and larger 
and m which many objects arc cngulphed and disappear. 
When we need them again we arc obliged to take a pick and 
hew them loose. It is worst under the beds and the so-called 
writing-tables, where at last great hills of ice arc formed, 
and to prevent this state of things from becoming too incon¬ 
venient we are now and then obliged to chop the indoor ice 
to pieces and carry it outside in buckets. 

But m spite of all this, the leader must not imagine that il 
was cold inside the house during the daytime. The kitchen- 
range burned from early m the morning to late in the evening 
and was our chief source of warmth. In the dining-room we 
had a little iron-stove, but we found that it was not very 
practical; it was difficult to get it to burn, but when once it 
had begun to do so, it soon became red hot and gave too much 
warmth. When it went out it grew cold again as speedily, so 
that when we wished to raise the temperature ot the room in 
the most convenient way we mostly used the “ Primus ” 
petroleum stove, which Ekclof had biought with him for 
purposes of sterilization. In this way the thermometer 
inside stood, during the day, at about 14 0 —17 0 C. (57.2 — 
62 6° F.), 

Still it leally mattered very little at what degree the ther¬ 
mometer stood, for down on the floor there was, as I have 
said, always ice to be found, while at the same time it could be 
broiling hot near the ceiling ; when we stood upiight the 
difference between the temperatures near the head and down 
at the feet was, in general, ro°—12 0 C. (18"—21.6" F.). There¬ 
fore, we had to he most careful to keep the feet warm; a 
principle, founded on experience, which can never be too 
well imprinted in the minds of the members of every ex¬ 
pedition which has to live under conditions similar to ours. 
For slippers I used a pair of seal-skin shoes, with the hair 
still on, and with thick wooden soles. Together with these 




The wintering station, with the thermometer screen and the astronomical observatory. 




ANTARCTICA 


152 

I woie coarse socks of goat-hair, and 1 found that this loot- 
covering answered its purpose admit ably. 

When we let the lire die out 111 the evening, the temperature 
sank very quickly of com sc ; especially when the midwinter 
storms raged, with the severe cold that always accompanied 
them, for in the corners of the house and around the windows 
-—not to speak of the walls themselves and the floor of the lofl 
-—there weie all too many cracks and openings when 1 the 
warmth could find an exit. Still it was comparatively seldom, 
even in the mornings, that the thermometer stood below 
zero , the coldest temperature we had inside, after we had 
once got everything there m perfect order, was - 5" C. 
(23° F.), obseived during the seveic June storm. That our 
rooms kept thus warm during the nights was to the greatest 
degree a result of our night-watches, which made it necessary 
to keep up the warmth indoors in some way ; this was usually 
done by keeping the “ Primus ” stove burning. 

It is true that we had many tilings to keep us busy, but 
still it may willingly be conlessed that during the winter two 
things seemed to us of especial importance—viz., to sleep and 
to eat. In consequence of the night-watches our sleeping 
hours became, of course, very irregular, and, besides, it was not 
so very easy to sleep m that little house, where eveiy word 
that was said was heard right across the building ; where there 
was always someone about, every hour oi the lour-and-tweuty, 
and where the Primus-stove, the alarm-clock, the dogs and 
the storm strove to out-voice each othei. When the days 
were shortest we lay in our beitlis as much as possible, but the 
consequence was that it was not so easy to sleep at night, and 
it not unfrequcntly happened that one had not succeeded in 
doing so when, at lour in the morning, there came the necessity 
of rising in older to begin the first watch. 

Our eating regulations form a chapter which is not without 
its interest. Akerlund had sole charge ol the kitchen, and he 
had, m truth, not a little to do. According to the original 
arrangement, we were to take breakfast at 8 a.m,, dine at 
r p.m., and take supper at 8 p.m., but in the course of the 



WAITING FOR WINTER. 


*53 

winter the hour at which the first two repasts were taken 
became considerably delayed. The scheme ol meals for the 
first half of the winter was as follows: 

Sunday, — Breakfast, porridge; dinner, tinned meat, 
potatoes and vegetables, meat-soup, dessert; suffer, lob- 
scouse. 

Monday.' — Breakfast, herrings and potatoes; dinner, pork 
and broad beans, gruel or cocoa; supper, small pancakes. 

Tuesday.— Breakfast, tinned meat, potatoes ; dinner, dned 
fish, potatoes, tinned soup, dessert; supper, porridge. 

Wednesday. — Breakfast, herring and potatoes ; dinner, 
tinned meat, vegetables, Jruit soup ; supper, lobsconse 

Thursday. — Breakfast, porridge; dinner, pease-soup and 
pork, small pancakes ; supper, lobscouse. 

Friday. — Breakfast, liei rings and potatoes ; dinner, blood- 
pudding or sausages, tinned soup ; supper, macaroni. 

Saturday — Breakfast, “ palt ’’-bread ;* dinner, salt meat, 
potatoes, vegetables ; supper, fruit-cream. 

In addition, coffee was drunk at breakfast and in the after¬ 
noon, and tea or cocoa was taken at supper. 

01 the preserved (tinned) foods a .fixed, quantity, generous 
in amount, was taken to the meals of which they formed part, 
and ol all the other kinds everybody was, as a rule, allowed to 
eat as much as he liked, for none of us thought that we could 
be shut in for another winter, and so we imagined that we 
need not be spaung with our provisions, especially when we 
found that the climatic conditions were more trying than 
could have been foreseen. The day came when we repented 
of this Iree-handedness, but for the time our table was in every 
respect excellent. The preserved foods proved to be very 
good, and I need scarcely say that I never saw anyone really 
grow tired of them, and this in spite of the fact that we 
scarcely tasted fresh meat during the whole of that winter. 

Spirits, m the form of a glass of hollands, were served at 
dinner to those who wished to have them, but this only during 

* A kind of cake, baked o£ blood, iye-meal and spices It can be kepi a whale 
winter, but Englishmen would piobably keep it still longer — Trans. 



ANTARCTICA. 


154 

the winter-time proper ; in addition to this, claret was served at 
dinner on Sundays, and on Thursdays we had warm Swedish 
punch with our pease. As often as any occasion occurred— 
and occasions are not difficult to find when one desires to do 
so—we had duimg this season little festive dinners, or an extra 
glass of punch or toddy was served out in the evening. Some 
may, perhaps, think that too much mention is made of punch¬ 
drinking, but those who criticise us should first try to really 
understand what it means to live such a life as we did. The 
one who stays at home, surrounded by the sometimes all too 
various diversions of cultured life—newspapers and books, 
new faces, thcaties, travels and a thousand other things 
which are so common that no attention is paid to them—can 
hardly imagine how important to us were these small occa¬ 
sions of unconstrained intercourse at the close of a clay’s 
work. If at other times one could sit silent by oneself, or be 
busied with reading or some other occupation, then con¬ 
versation became general; stories and reminiscences of the 
outside world were recounted, plans and questions were made 
respecting our life here and our labours. It is not my 
meaning when I say this to express the opinion that the use 
of spirits, and especially of those of the stronger soit, cannot 
be dispensed with during a Polar expedition. Amongst our 
■party Lieut. Sobral was the only one who used no spirits 
during the expedition, and he got on very well indeed in every 
respect without them. In any case, it is better to have too 
small a supply of such goods on board than too large a one ; 
but then, in my opinion, it is absolutely necessary to be able 
to offer something else in its place, and it cannot be an advan¬ 
tage to employ any substitute manufactured on the spot of 
spirit intended lor other purposes. 

At the end of April, Ekelof, Jonasscn and myself undertook 
our first sledge-journey. We had now been for a whole month 
absolutely shut up on our island, and we could not think of 
making a boat expedition ; but then, again, the ice would 
not yet bear. Wind and currents caused great leads in our 
sound even in the middle of the month, but about the 20th 



WAITING FOR WINTER. 


155 

we had a succession oJ line calm days with some mist and cold 
which made the ice fast. I wished to go over to Seymour 
Island, partly to see if the cairn and the signal-post were in 
order, but also to look for fossils now that I had become 
tolerably well acquainted with those of our own island. 
We were ready to start on the 24th, but luckily did not do 
so, for one of the usual hurricanes came on and lasted 
three days without interruption, so that it was not before 
the 27th that w r e left. 





L i: /■> .. ’ ^ J 

Pima (if] _ [E Dm®. 

On a sledge-expedition. 

The ice was, on the whole, smooth and good, but here and 
there it was covered with pretty much sand, and in other 
places it was damp with sea-water. In both the sledging was 
very heavy. Before coming to the northern point of Snow 
Hill Island we were surrounded by so dense a mist that it 
became impossible to see our way before iis, and by mistake 
we followed the coast much too far towards the east, When 
we at length noticed that we had gone astray we were obliged 
to sit down and wait until the air grew lighter, but fortunately 
soon caught a glimpse of the land we intended to make, enough 
to enable us to cross the sound separating the two islands and 






ANTARCTICA 


156 

to continue oui journey. We followed the shoie on our 
arrival, but soon found that both men and dogs were unaccus¬ 
tomed to such toil, and, therefore, on reaching a beautiful 
valley which seemed to promise easy access to the island, T 
determined to drive inland and make our camping-place there. 
Thanks to pi notice and expeiiencc we afterwards learned to 
consider it a trifle to go thiee times the distance done this 
day with hcaviei loads, but now the last bit ol the way between 
the closely-packed blocks of ice and the pressure-ice seemed 
very tiring. At last we came to a little terrace al the mouth 
of the valley, where we pitched our tent. 

The days were short, and as, unfortunately, we had for¬ 
gotten to take any light with us, we made a meal ready as soon 
as we could and crept into our large sleeping-bag. It was a 
fine, calm evening, but it ielt cold, and, consequently, our 
slumber left much to be wished for. This expedition and 
tlic former one gave me a very poor opinion of t ha advantages 
of using a three-man sleeping-bag, and I never tiied the ex¬ 
periment again. 

The next day I made a little expedition, in ordei to study 
the district and to search lor fossils. My landing from the 
Antarctic had not been a very profitable one in this respect, 
but on this occasion I had come to a richer part ol the island. 
I have written in my diary: “ Seymour Island is most un¬ 
doubtedly a wonderful land, and it is decidedly uniortuualo 
that we have not chosen it as the site of our 'Winter-station.” 
The island is lower and much more intersected by valleys than 
Snow Hill Island, and consists ol friable sandstones contain¬ 
ing in many places numerous and well-preserved mollusca, 
ammonites, etc. 1 was much astonished at the occurrence of 
the latter, which I imagined wcie only to he found on Snow 
Hill, but it became clear that a part, at least, of Seyinoiu 
Island must also be ascribed to mcsozoic formations. 

The dogs had lmnied back to the camp in advance ol us and 
made their way into the tent, where they devoured our whole 
supply of butter. At six o’clock we were again obliged to creep 
into our sleeping-bag. 



WAITING FOR WINTER 


157 

Oil the following morning we paid a visit to the cairn and 
signal-post which we had raised m January, and enclosed a 
letter giving information of the position oi our wintering- 
station. Everything was as wc had left it and had suffered 
no damage from the stouns. All was dead and still around 
us, and lormed a most complete contiast to our last visit, 
when wc were a dozen persons on land and were surrounded 
by thousands of penguins. The dogs now ferretted out a few 
dead young birds which they ate, and that was all that was 



Ice formations on the shorn. 


left of mementoes from that time. Wc returned to the camp,, 
and as I had now attained the chief aim of the expedition, and 
the weather, in spite of sunshine and the calm, being in any 
case almost too cold for us to be able to carry out detailed 
scientific work, I at once gave orders to break up. We 
carried our things over the pressure-ice close to the land 
and started off, and alter a rapid march were home again at 
the station by dusk. 



ANTARCTICA 


158 

We were really very fortunate as regards the weathei on this 
occasion, for one could not have wished for finer days in these 
tracts during the winter. The sunset on the 27th was gorgeous ; 
not least from its reflection m the east, wheie the long rows 
of enormous icebergs, glimmering in the last rays of the sun, 
resembled white castles in an enchanted city, whilst over them 
a broad belt of clouds m shifting violets and deep reds over¬ 
spread the sky like the thick smoke from some gigantic con¬ 
flagration. When the dark came on and the stars were lit, 
and a dying streak still lingered in the south-west, and paled 
from purple to gold and from gold to silver, I went out alone 
a little way on the ice until the camp became invisible, until 
nothing met the eye but the dark outline of that precipitous 
coast, the far-stretching ramparts of snow and the towering 
blocks of ice. Not a breath of air was in motion, not a sound 
could be heard; for the distant barking of a dog did not seem 
to break the stillness when the mind grasped how infinitely 
small was the role played by a chance visit of a few men and 
their attendants to this desert world of ice. The land lies 
hidden there, and even the unbroken masses of ice have no 
appearance of life. But the stillness is not eternal ; for soon, 
and often repeated, a creaking and a booming is heard, and Ihc 
ice moves beneath the feet. It is the throbbing of the mighly 
pulse of the ocean which thus makes itself felt; the ocean, 
which is bound but is not dead, and which often rises and 
rends its chains to fragments. And we know, we are certain, 
that in the wateis beneath us there is life. Could wc but come 
out to the leads and to the open sea around the icebergs, we 
should of a surety find more proofs than one of the existence 
of an animal world, even in these regions. 

******* 

If one can in any sense speak of an autumn in Antarctic 
tracts, where it is really winter the whole year round, then wc 
must suppose that lor us it came to an end with the expedition 
just mentioned. Our sledging equipment was put up into the 
loft once more and the dogs were allowed three whole months 
of rest ere we again spoke of putting them into harness. 



IS 9 


CHAPTER X. 

STORMS AND COLD. 

May-day—The period of sevcie storms during May and June—Midwmtei—Our 
tidal observations—A sledge journey during the winter—Our coldest days 

THE first of May ! How many 
memories are awakened by 
this day ? Far away in our 
home-land on the confines of 
the Northern Pole, everyone 
is now in movement to meet 
the approaching spring. But 
how different does not every¬ 
thing appear here ! There is 
not much cause to praise the 
summer which is enjoyed in 
these regions, a summer with¬ 
out warmth and without ver¬ 
dure, but the little signs there 
have been of such a season 
are now left behind us, and 
when we look forward, the 
Polar winter looms there with 
darkness and cold. But we 
celebrate the day all the same, 
and we have good reason for so doing, for we have been 
longing for winter ; it is during the winter that we hope to 
be able to gain all these new experiences for the sake of 
which we have come hither. The Swedish flag is hoisted 



Our anemometei. 




160 ANTARCTICA. 

lor the first time since we landed; lor the first time upon 
Antarctic soil, and a great banquet is prepared. In this 
latter respect at least we could not have been better oh had 
we been at home, and a pleasant and cosy party we made oi 
it, too. 

We had already had in the lorenoon that remarkable, warm 
weather—bringing the thermometer up to +5° C (41" F,), 
which we had already learned to recognize as a bad omen. 
While we were dining there came a few strong blasts ol wind, 
but it was not helore the evening that the storm broke loose, 
while the thermometer sank to —19 0 C ( — 2.2 F".), and 
then there came a huiricane, the like of which we had not 
before experienced. On the morning ol Lhe jtd, the velocity 
of the wind rose to 30 metres per second (67 miles per 
hour) and occasionally to much more. The hatch ol the 
thermometer-screen was blown to pieces, and the Hag-staff on 
the roof was broken off. The wind subsided gradually lhe 
next day, so that by the evening it was quite calm again, 
but the thermometer still showed 30° C. cold ( — 22" F.). 

The view seawards that day was most magnificent ; the 
ice had been broken up and parity dispersed by the storm, 
and above all these newly-formed openings and leads rose 1 
the finest “ sea-smoke ” imaginable. The watpi was so much 
warmer than the air that-the rising vapom became at once 
condensed by the terrible cold, and the whole sea appeal eel 
to boil and steam like an open kettle; it need scarcely be 
said that the phenomenon appeared specially beautiful in the 
clear sunlight 

It would become too monotonous should I here give a detailed 
description in chronological order of - ' our winter campaign, 
with all the storms we experienced during the time. I shall 
instead endeavour to give a general view of the experience 
gained in this respect during these months. The storm 
which began on May 1st was the introduction to a period 
which can scarcely have had its equal in any place where 
man has lived. At first, however, we had several days when 
we could work out-doors and continue our preparations for 



STORMS AND COLD 


161 

the winter. I had spoken with Bodman of the desirability 
oi arranging a few extra obseivation-days m May and June, 
and after he had accepted my offer of assistance on these 
occasions, we agreed to let the 8th May be the fust of these 
“voluntary” days. The weather in the loicnoon was calm 



photo y] tB. EKEltar. 

“Niggci,” one of our Falkland dogs. 


and fine, and I went out for a moment up on to the glacier. 
There I had raised a row of bamboo-rods which had to be 
measured and attended to as often as possible, and in a wooden 
box buried in the ice I had sunk a couple of thermometers 
in order to take the temperature there at different depths. 
In fine weather, such walks were amongst the pleasantest 
changes in our monotonous existence. Even when every- 

ii 


ANTARCTICA. 


162 

thing goes well, it can sometimes be pleasant to go out 
lor a while alone, or accompanied only by the iaithful clogs, 
and fancy oneself back again over the seas, or to dretun 
ambitions plans of future exploring expeditions 

But to-day it seemed as though the dogs belt that bad 
weather was coming on, and when 1 letiunecl to the station 
about 3 p.m. the stoim began, and in a trice we were sui- 
rounded by whirling snow-dust which shut out evoiy view. 
In the evening wc observed for the first time a most peculiar 
phenomenon which was altciwards lepeated on the, occa¬ 
sions of the greatest storms ; the air was, us it were, 
saturated with electricity ; when outside, one could see m 
the dark a luminous appearance around the linger-lips or 
the hat-band, and m the dining-ioom the legistemig apparatus 
of the anemometer gave such violent shocks that one most 
unwillingly touched the metallic parts. It is not easy to 
find the cause of this phenomenon, but I have heard sonie- 
whcie that m simoons in the desert, the sand-filled at 1110s- 
phete becomes charged with electricity to the same degree 
as was now the case, so that one can perhaps find an ex¬ 
planation of the fact in supposing that it is brought about by 
the friction .caused amongst the dry grams of snow when they 
arc driven onwards by the hurricane. 

By ten o’clock the storm was so violent that it was with 
difficulty I could scramble down to the observatory where 
I was to take the next observation at eleven. In 01 dor to 
get round the corner of the dwelling-house I was obliged 
to he down and creep on my hands and knees, after which 
I had to seize an opportunity of resting for a moment against 
the wall. Then I made up my mind to go on, but instead 
of going directly against the wind, which quite took away 
the breath, I went a very little to 011c side, and was imme¬ 
diately seized by the hurricane and driven away in a hall- 
circle a long way off to leeward. I tried again to beat up 
against the wind and actually succeeded in getting down 
into the valley, where I searched for the faint remains of what 
had once been a footpath through the snow. Of this path 



STORMS AND COLD. 


163 


rlicic now remained only Hie trampled loot-prints 111 relief; 
the snow once around them having blown away. But it 
was impossible lor me to persevere in the combat with darkness 
and storm. The hour when the obseivation should have 
been taken was already past, and consequent^ I had no other 
choice but to return to the house with my errand undone 
At midnight I made another attempt, and although the 
weather was unchanged—the average, velocity ol the wind 
during the horn having been about 30 metres per second— 
and although I was blown otf my feet several times on the 
way, I succeeded, more by chance I expect, 111 reaching the 
observatory. I found it impractical, however, to continue 
under such circumstances, not only on account of the un¬ 
pleasantness and the danger, but also, and clncfly, because 
the observations made became uncertain, and wc ran the 
danger of disturbing the instruments, a thing which had 
most of all to be avoided. It was not until the morning that 
the storm subsided. 

The two following weeks were cold and wretched and 
accompanied by numerous storms, though wc had several 
line days which gave us the opportunity of finishing some 
work which had been hanging over us, and it was not until 
the latter part of the month that the weather grew absolutely 
bad. In this connection I give some extracts from my diary 
for that period : 

May ■Z'Znd. “ The weather was not altogether impossible, 
but cold and sunless. We had a strong breeze in the morning 
which freshened still more, so that there could be no thought 
of doing anything of use out on the fell. Bodman, however, 
began to work at a snow-house for the absolute magnetic 
determinations, and Jonassen too did a little work out¬ 
doors.” 

Sunday, May 25 th, “To-day was the national fete-day 
of the Argentine Republic, and we kept it with a special 
banquet. The wind, whose velocity in the forenoon had been 
about 10 metres per second (22 miles per hour) had freshened 
towards the afternoon, and just at present we have a violent 

11* 



I6q 


ANTARCTICA. 


snow-stoim , the moon peeps out now and then, so that it 
is fairly light outside. We are having very nasty woathei ; 
we have not seen the sun for several weeks aud, with the 
exception of a couple of hours yesteiday, we have not had 
one moment’s calm during that times so if must be eonlessed 
that this is a bad climate.” 

May 2 8th. “ We began to think that now we had had 
quite enough ol snow-storms, and 1 almost expected that 
there would have come an interval ol those extiemely line 
days we have had before, but the wind to-night has hvshened 
still more. I ought to have begun my watch at lour o’clock 
but was awakened at three by the howling ol the st01111 
around the. coiners of the house. Dming the day-time one 
has no feeling that it is teriilying or dangerous, but at night, 
when everything else is silent and one lies alone in one’s beith, 
or sits up watching, the continual din grows almost unen¬ 
durable. The cardboard and Ihe ropes strike against Ihe 
walls, and the whole house shakes ; it becomes no better when 
one goes out into the open air Only one sound can he hoard 
there—the howling ol the storm as it thrashes agamsl gioimd 
and walls, clothes and fact'. All is dark lound ahold, one 
cannot distinguish objects scarcely 20 yards away. And 
where does it really come from, this fine snow which sweeps 
along the ground in one incessant tide ? It is apparently 
one ol the most important factors in the economy of nature 
here, but nothing is known ol it. To-day, the registering 
apparatus of the anemometer has given off spaiks again, and 
the very paper which the needle pricks was so elertrilied, 
that it was attracted by metal objects which were brought 
near to it. 

“ Someone of us has compared our house in this storm to a 
railway-train, and the comparison is not at all bad. The 
shaking, which is so severe that the water in a basin on the 
table trembles as if there were an earthquake ; the rattling 
in the kitchen-range damper ; the howling and booming in 
all keys; the door which is opened and slammcd-to again, 
letting in each time the winter-cokl and a thick cloud of 




Ravine valley near the dwelling house at the station 


I (56 


ANTARCTICA. 


condensed vapour—everything reminds one vividly ot iho 
sleeping-cai of an express-train rushing along a line winch 
is not too solidly constructed.” 

May 30 th. “ The storm has continued with undnnmishcd 
strength, and early this morning it was --4 0 C (24.8" F.) m tin* 
dining-room, but it grew a little better towards the lomioon. 
The.ie is an immense difference between wind-velocities ot 28 
metres and 20 metres per second (62 and 44.7 miles poi 
hour), m the first case, one cannot stand erect; the second 
velocity is unpleasant, but not so very bad. At 3 p.m. we 
still had 16 metres per second (33.8 miles per hour), 

o 

but at eight in the evening Akcrlund came and complained 
of the kitchen-range, which would not burn because there was 
no diaught. I thought that he could voty well be content 
with what wind we had, but then looked at the anemomelei 
paper and was quite sin prised to find that there, was nmv not 
a single prick on it I at once thought that something must 
be out of order and went out to attend to it, when I marked 
to my intense astonishment that thoio. was a dead calm, and 
that wc had the finest, star-light night one could wish for.” 

May 31 st. “ The first sun-rise we have seen for a long 
time ; gorgeous and beautiful. The morning was so clear 
and bright that 1 absolutely do not know with what Lo 
compare it A faint violet light lay along the horizon 
and over Cockburn Island, which lorms the central 
point ol the view from the station, The sky gleams 
with a darker blue, and across it float long slieameis 
of nbbon-like clouds which shine and flame in red. But even 
in the colour there is something pale, a paleness which pie- 
dominates with indescribable delicateness of tone in the 
tints ol the horizon, and m the blue and white shades of the 
stretches of land which contrast so strongly with the dn.lt 
brown of our immediate neighbourhood and even with the 
sharply defined ice-wall of Snow Hill. At about ten o’clock 
a glowing spot begins to be visible on the horizon and, presaged 
by a perpendicular pillar of lire, there rises what should be 
the orb of the sun, but which, in consequence ol refraction, 




ie Pedicular termination (Chinese wall) of Snow Hill glacier, projecLing into the sea (Shows toe regular neve straufi^Uo™'* 




ANTARCTICA. 


168 

appears to us to be a broad, flaming, moving belt ol lire 
On each side of the sun thcic are two shining, intensely rain¬ 
bow-coloured belts, forming parts of a ling which, however, 
can be seen but imperfectly. The sun uses higher in till' 
heavens and assumes, by degrees, his ordinaly appeaianie, 
wheieupon these accessory phenomena disappear, together 
with the moon, whose crescent has been visible in the sky unlil 
the last possible moment ” 

June xst. “ Before midnight the night was as still as the 
day, not a breath of wind being in motion, but it seems that 
about i a.m. a kind of veil had spread over the sky and 
a moment later the stoim broke, out without any lurlhci 
warning. It was well that the change in the weather did 
not take place when any of us were lar away, for it would 
not have been at all an easy thing to weather llie sloim. 
I woke at once when the wind began to blow m the house- 
stays, and had not fallen to sleep again when the alarm clock 
called me on duty at four o’clock. It was a wild scene out¬ 
side. The velocity of the wind was about 20 metres pci 
second and the snow had not yet had tune to get properly 
into movement, so that the moon and a little hit of the stai- 
ht sky peeped through the whirling snow-masses, while the 
outlines of the nearest hills showed ghbstly-grny in the 
night.” 

June $th. “ Since the beginning of the month we have now 
had incessantly a wind-velocity of over 20 metres per second, 
and the temperature has varied between -25° and-go 0 !'. 
( — 13" and — 22" F.) hut to-day it is ‘lino weather,' the 
figures being respectively merely 16 metres and - 25 0 C, 
—a mere nothing ! I wondci how many at home have ever 
experienced the like. It was my intention, however, to 
make use of the opportunity and determined to go up 
on to the glacier, dressed in the lull ‘ wind ’ dress, ol the 
kind* which wc used in such weather as this, and provided 

* This dress, which is made oE thin, wtnd-pioof canvas, consists of liousers and a 
jacket with a hood (biggon) intended to be drawn ovei the head, and thciuforu made 
m one piece, without any opening which needs Lo be buttoned. 





170 


ANTARCTICA 


m addition with hood, mittens and ‘ storm-spectacles,’ 
The heavy clothes, the heavy going, the stonn, and the 
covering over the nose, made it almost impossible to hi outlie, 
and the whole day I have had an unpleasant leeling oi ovei- 
exertion ” 

June jth. “ In a way, one can grow accustomed to any¬ 
thing, but this weather promises to become tiring m the 
length. One consolation, although a poor one, is, that it 
can be considered as a ‘iecord’ storm. Jouassen’s: 1 1 

think the wind’s falling’ does nothing now but awaken 
general merriment, and the ‘ express-tram rushes on at a 
dizzy speed.’ The mean velocity of the wind lor the last 
four-and-twenty hours has been greater than ioi any othci 
similar period dining the whole month.” 

June 8 th. “ At last wo have a short respite, and it is long 
enough to allow us to go out and view the ravages of the storm, 
which have been bad enough. A barrel of bread had blown 
away, but was afterwards found stuck last between some ice- 
blocks on the shore. One great loss has been suffered, lor we 
see that our large boat has been blown to a distance of some 
2r yards along the shore and over the other boat, being 
then stopped by some ice-rocks against which it still lay, 
keel in the air, and with the greater part of one side smashed 
in ; the oars, thwarts and loose, inside planks scattered about 
and broken ; even the zinc-plate sheeting has been wrenched 
off and scattered about Remarkably enough, it still lay 
with its length at right angles to llie direction of the wind, 
a thing which one would have thought to be quite impossible. 

“ I afterwards went up on to the glacier and had a view of a 
sunset which formed a magnificent picture. To the south 
lay a faint, rose-red streak ; to the east over Snow Hill luing 
a dark violet-blue cloud which looked very like a watery 
sky, while to the north the heavens were grey, with a low- 
lying belt of faint yellow and red violet tones. Right across 
the bay stretched a light ribbon of mist, resembling a fairy 
veil, the streaming ends of which fluttered into the valleys 
of our island. There came a few puffs of wind, and sinutl- 




Our big boat bad blow n awaj along the shore and laj smashed agimst the 







172 


ANTARCTICA 


laneously one could see how the musts lose in the north-east 
and darkened into mingled violet and carmine, like the smoke 
fiom a great lire. On the opposite slime, Mount Haddington 
began to be sunoimded by whirling snow-dust and assumed a 
gloomy, threatening appearance; ten minutes Intel 1 was 
myscll enshrouded in the snow-mist and an horn aiteiwanls 
the velocity of the wind was 27 metres pei second (bo. 1 , miles 
per hour), and the thermometer had fallen to ,J2° C. 
(-25 6F r '.).” 

June gth. “To-day I have had moie masons than one 
lor thinking about Sweden, but undei such conditions as 0111 
own it is no easy task to lead 0111 thoughts to the paths we 
wish, and to call up remembrances ol happy people and 
flowers and sunshine Naturally, the cxploier ot Polai 
regions is not supposed to enjoy tine weather evoiy day, but 
this is really about the worst day we have had. It is not, ol 
course, the details themselves of the stoim which are so remark¬ 
able, it is the conjuncture ot all these adverse circumstances 
which se # em to wish to make it impossible lor us to show that 
we really desiied to do our best to pci form something hem. 
It had been our intention to have to-day one. of these voluntary 
‘ magnet-days,’ and I had promised to take the watch 
until four the next morning. In the foienoon this occasioned 
no difficulty, but then Jonassou came dragging in Castor 
in a dying condition. lie had been lighting with the olhci 
dogs and had no visible wound, but looked very bad. The 
doctor said that the lung was iujmecl and attempted an 
operation 111 order to sew up the wound, but it was evident 
that, in any case, the dog could not he saved. The stoim 
began to howl more and mote, and it grew dark outside ; 
it was difficult to he theic and hear the poor animal, the best- 
tempered of them alf, fighting for breath whilst his lungs 
filled with blood. The only .consolation was the knowledge 
that it was none ol my human companions who had met 
with an accident—I do not know how it would be possible 
to support such a misfortune. The dog died about Jive 
o’clock and was opened by the doctor, It is extremely 



STORMS AND COLD. 


173 


.strange how he could have loccivod such injuries as these 
from lire other dogs Here, as m the case ol the boat, one 
could almost be brought to believe in the existence of some 
evil wizai ds who wander about, when none see them, for the 
purpose of doing us harm 

“ The storm increased to a violence whose like we had never 
before witnessed. This time I made up my mind not to put 
off our observations, but of course it was madness in this 
wealhei to go out every hour, and so I confined myself to 
taking observations at 10 pun., at midnight and at 2 am., 
whilst Hodman was to begin at 4 By xo p.m it was already 
blowing a hurricane, the mean velocity of the wind, according 
to the anemometer, being Jif metres per second (70,^ miles per 
hour). I managed to get to the observatory, however, by 
creeping on my hands and knees, but it would have been 
impossible to do so had I not known every snow-mark on the 
way by heart. At midnight the anemometer indicated a 
somewhat lesser velocity, and I began to expect a change 
for the butler—but found that it grew worse instead. The 
whole observatory shook, and inside it was almost terrifying 
to hear the roof rattle, and the stays and cardboard banging 
against the walls. One of the lamps had fallen from its 
stand ; I put it back into its place and relit it, 'and it fell 
again. The temperature inside was —25 0 C. (—13" F.), which 
was not at all agreeable when, after having exerted oneself 
to the utmost to come to the place, one had to sit and take 
uninterrupted observations. On the way home, creeping on 
all fours, and having to turn the corner, there came a gust 
of wind which caught me, and threw me out towards the 
steep of the hill, in spite of my lying at full length and 
holding on with both hands and feet. It was only at the 
very last minute I could save myself from being blown down 
the slope. 

Directly after 1 a.m. the anemometer suddenly ceased 
to register ; as we discovered afterwards, it had been broken 
by the storm, the cross-piece with the cups having been 
blown away, and this put an end to our observations of wind- 



<74 ANTARCTICA. 

velocities It seemed, howevei, as if the weather improved 
somewhat in the morning.” 

June 10th. “ Storm 1 Storm • Storm ! But the wind lias 

ceitainly decreased m strength during the. coui so of the 
day.” 

June 12 th “ It is cold outside, but the wind has almost 

ceased In the morning I took a tup out on the ire to look- 
tor a bread-barrel which had blown away, and which Jonassen 
had not succeeded in finding. It seemed almost like witch¬ 
craft, but I found it at last on the shoie neat the boats. An 
immense snow-drift, many metres high, has been formed 
as a kind of prolongation of Snow Hill glaciei. A niuubei 
of small stones have been blown out on to tin ice ; Bodiuau 
weighed one of the largest and found its weight to he about 
36 grammes (T.2702s.). Thus ended this stoun-peiiod, which 
I imagine was almost singular ol its kmd The mean velocity 
of the wind from May 27th to June ioth was, the hours ol 
calm included, 18,6 metres per second (4if miles pet lioui), 
whilst the average temperature for the same time was about 
— 25 0 C. ( — 13° F.). It we continue our former similitude - 
of comparing our house to an express train—which may lx* 
considered a very striking one, the only difference being that 
it is the air which roars past ns, and not we who move- 
we shall find that had we journeyed at the average speed ol 
the storm we should, during the half month, have, traversed a 
distance of 24,000 kilometres (14,900 miles), that is to say, we 
could have paid a visit to Sweden and have come hallway 
back again.” 

* * * * * # * 

Now came a period of comparatively line weather, some¬ 
times quite warm, so that we sat at the Open door and landed 
that it could just as well be midsummer as winter. We had 
now arrived at the noteworthy day when the sun was to turn 
in its course and the days grow longei and longer, and if any 
persons ever felt themselves called upon to celebrate the day 
it was suiely we. We began on the evening of the 23rd by 
a little feast, which was kept almost as Christmas-Eve had 



STORMS AND COLD. 


175 

been, willi stock-fish, rice-porridge, and a Yule-candle burning 
before each plate. But the chief festival was to be celebrated, 
on the following day. Then we were regaled with what was 
probably the stateliest banquet of the whole of our Antarctic 
sojouJrn, and 1 cannot help publishing the menu : “ Cold and 
warm snacks* (extra good), with two kinds of hollands ; nettlc- 
poi ridge ; Lurlle soup ; beef, potatoes and vegetables (English 
army rations); stewed coin-cobs ; cold bird in jelly, with 
rice; beei and stewed cauliflower; hurt pudding, sweet¬ 
meats , cheese and cakes.” 

At the beginning of this period, too, we put ora tide-measurer 
in order. These observations, which were to be taken each 
hour for a whole month, and were made at a distance of about 
320 yards from the house, demanded a new division of the 
watches. Bodman and Sobral continued to take the whole of 
the forenoon, and Akerlund took one hour m the morning, but 
the rest of the twenty-four hours was equally divided between 
the four scientists and Jonassen, m such a way that we each 
had watch cvciy fifth night only, but then it lasted till 5 a.m. 
When the weather was fine, this affair caused but little 
trouble, but when a storm raged we had a liaid time of it, I 
shall let the diary speak again: 

July 3 rd. “ Dressed m wind-clothes with hood (biggon) 
and cap, and a stocking to protect the nose with, one can 
manage pretty well, even in this weather. But still the wind 
penetrates the clothes a little, and what with a number of 
small defects in the dress, bad protection for the face, short 
mittens, etc., such a night does not pass without leaving a few 
mementoes in the form of frost-bites. It takes a quarter of 
an hour to make the observations, especially when, on coming 
down to the ice, one has to take away the snow which has 
gathered in the hole. First comes the difficulty of finding a 
way m the dark down the slope of the hill; then there is the 
long way down to the shore, with the storm howling at one’s 
back and the air so thick with drifting snow that everything 

* In Swedish, “smorgasbord,” which means something like “sandwich- 
table ”— Trans. 



ANTARCTICA. 


176 

lias become invisible. Having loimd the boat, ball buried 
in ice, which forms our landmaik, one has alter wards to creep 
along between the projecting, rounded masses ol ice, a great 
part of the road being covered with peifectly smooth ice, 
where it is impossible to stand in the prevailing winds. And 
should the lantern go out just at the minute one has readied 
the spot, one must go back and begin all over again. It is 
difficult enough to find the instrument, but to read the rec.oid 
is worse. But if the figures have been read off, then comes 
the worst of all—the geLting home in the teeth ol the wind 
Fingers and face ache with the cold, but the most unpleasant 
pint of the business is that the eyes are injured by the cold 
and the sharp pai tides ol snow ” 

On the 14th July we finished these tide-observations, which 
had then been earned on for the space of loin weeks. In their 
stead I wished to undertake a short sledgc-jouiney as soon as 
possible, in order to begin the work I intended to carry out 
in the surrounding country, and I hoped that, alter the stonns 
which had so plagued us without intermission, we should now 
be able to count on fine weather. But, instead, thcie com¬ 
menced a month which was quite as unpleasant as the lore¬ 
going period ; not, indeed, on account ol its storms, but in 
consequence of the seveie cold in conjunction with the high 
winds. From the 15th to the 24th of July there blew one 
continual storm, the temperature being about - 30° C. During 
this time I made everything ready lor the journey, and now 
that calm weather ensued I determined on starting the 
following day, Akcrlund having been chosen to accompany 
me this time, together with Sobral and Jonassen. 

Our way lay over Admiralty Sound to the opposite shore, 
where the land, from all that I had already seen of it, promised 
to.be of great geological interest, and where I also intended to 
carry out a little cartographical work, study the glaciers, and 
take a number of photographs. But the chief object of the 
journey was to prove the suitability of our equipment for a 
winter expedition, and to gam experience in every respect. 

I had, therefore, made careful preparations for the journey, 








ANTARCTICA 


178 

and we took with us a supply ol provisions, the amount ol 
which was carefully calculated in accordance with the plan 1 
had made for our futuie more extended expedition. 

When I awoke in the morning, the weather was almost quite 
calm, and the thermometer showed ~3i 0 C. ( — 23.8° F.). There 
was a great deal to get m order and we did not start much 
before midday. My dress consisted of double woollen under¬ 
clothing, wash-leather trousers, socks, shoes of reindeer-skm, 
and my oidinaiy clothes of home-spun, and, as the went hoi 
then was, this was more than sufficient. Oui equipment, 
which was not so very heavy, had been placed on a sledge 
drawn by the four Greenland dogs, and by Kano, the yellow 
Falklander. This last-named animal bad never had my con¬ 
fidence, but, strangely enough, our tiial-jom neys showed him 
to be the most docile of all wo now had left Although we went 
at a good speed, it was not till long after sunset that we 
reached our destined camping-place in the bay inside Cape 
Hamilton. One of the unpleasantest moments of the day is 
when one, m such weather and warm and perspiiing alter the 
march, has to sit down and make all the arrangements for the 
camp. Even to light the Piimtts petroleum sieve is no easy 
task, when all the metallic parts burn as if they were glowing 
hot instead of being cold. 

The three-man sleeping-bag, already tried, had been brought 
for my three companions , for my own part, I intended to 
try a new plan, viz., to he in clothes of reindeer-skin, without 
any sleeping-bag, I pulled a pair of sheep-skin socks over 
my feet, and I should have had closed mittens for my hands, 
but had laid them aside m the course of the evening and could 
not find them now in the darkness. I passed an uneasy night, 
it is true, but the plan proved feasible, and would have suc¬ 
ceeded better had I arranged things a little more practically 
than I had now done. I woke early, and, as none of the others 
made any signs of stirring, I rose and began to get the break¬ 
fast ready, which was no very agreeable occupation with the 
temperature, as now, at about -35 0 C, ( — 31° F.), 

During the day I undertook a long trip up the bay, where 



STORMS AND COLD. 


179 


I visited the gieat glacier, which was interesting from the 
struct me o[ the ice hcie differing so essentially from that 
winch is seen in the calotte-glaciers of the Snow Hill type, the 
ice in the former case resembling that of ordinary glaciers 111 
mountain districts, being intersected with upright layeis ol a 
blue ice-mass, whilst 111 the latter type one finds regular hori¬ 
zontal stratification 

1 rctui nod to the camp about four o’clock, and after we had 
eaten supper it did not take long lor us to creep into our 
sleeping-clothes again. Everything around us was so still 
that I hoped for a favourable morning; nothing broke the 
silence hut the creaking of the ice at the change of tide. But 
still it was not silent inside the tent; no one could sleep com¬ 
fortably, and least oi all the three who shared the sleepmg- 
bag. Suddenly I heard a long-drawn, distant booming, and 
my thoughts at once flew to the south-west stoims, although 
1 hoped to the last minute that it was but the sound of some 
movement of the ice-masses inland All at once, however, 
the dogs came huddling close against the tent; Jonassen 
shouted to them, but broke off with the words : “ Here she 
is ! ” And sure enough, it was the storm which began to howl 
and to shake our tent, which had not been so very carefully 
erected, and suddenly the one tent-pole after the other gave 
way before the united assaults ol snow, wind and dogs. We 
tried lor a time to lie still; a mass which each moment grew 
heavier and heavier occupying the space between me and the 
sleeping-bag. I was now, comparatively, the one best off, 
for the others were in danger of being suffocated, and at last 
J onassen was obliged to creep out and make the tent clear. 

Fortunately the storm was not of long duration, for towards 
morning the weather began to be fine again. I thought, 
however, that' we had gained experience enough, and after 
placing a supply of suitable provisions in a depot for the event 
of our needing another point of support on that coast, we 
started for home, which we reached before dusk. 

Now followed a period of comparatively less wind, but of 
continual cold. August 6th was our coldest day. In the 

12* 



ANTARCTICA 


i So 

forenoon we had lor a while a wind velocity of 20 metres per 
second and a temperature of - 35 ° C ( — 32° F.) During the 
course oi the afternoon the temperature sunk still lower, and 
in the evening Bodman came 111 with quicksilver which had 
been allowed to fieeze m a glass-beaker to one coherent crystal 
mass. The cold had now reached its maximum with - 41 • 3 0 
C. (— 42,3° F), while a storm blew of somewhat lesser force 
than in the morning, viz., about 14 metres per second (31] 
miles per hour). I went for a long tune up and down the 
open place before our house, m order to try the effect of the 
weather when I had on my wind-dress and when I was without 
it, and I have never so plainly experienced what an excellent 
article of attire the costume is. No cold penetrated it, but 
without it one grew cold to the veiy marrow of the bones. II 
was almost unendurable to go out with uncovered hands ; 
neither could one do without some protection for the face 
when moving against the wind, as then the eyes were very 
soon attacked. 

The wind soon fell, but the cold continued throughout the 
next day. On the 8th, however, the temperature rose sud¬ 
denly to -n° C. (12.2 0 F.), and it seemed as though it had 
suddenly become summer; I scarcely felt any difference 
when I came with unbuttoned coat from the room where we 
had +20 0 C (68° F.), into the open air. 01 the following day 
I wrote in my diary as follows : 

August qth. “The thermometer did not stop at —jci 0 C., 
and my prophecy that there would soon be a storm was quickly 
fulfilled Tins morning we had a dense fog, and the ther¬ 
mometer had been up to -4 0 C. (24.8° F.), a difference of 
37 0 C (66.6° F) within forty-eight hours. Then il grew 
colder again, and at about midday the south-wester came 
suddenly, and without tire slightest warning, in the form 
of a violent hurricane with severe cold. This evening we 
have -30° C. again.” 

The following day was, as far as regards the weather, about 
the most unpleasant we spent during the whole of our Antarctic 
campaign, the mean velocity of the wind going up to about 



STORMS AND COLD. 


181 

27J metres per second (6it miles per hour), and the average 
temperature being - 31. i° C. (— 24° F.). Luckily the tempest 
did not last long, and the next morning we were able to go 
out again and look lor the things which had blown away, 
ill st amongst them being the roof of the astronomical 
observatory, the fragments of which were found a long way 
past the boals. It must have been carried there entire and 
then smashed against the rocks. 

It seemed as if the full power of winter had been broken 
with this last violent exhibition of strength, and although the 
reader will see later on that we still had to endure many and 
severe storms ere spring-time came, yet we never again 
experienced that combination of storm and cold which had 
hitherto prevailed. 




Russ Island and Mount Haddington. 


CHAPTER XT. 

'I IIE DAYS BEGIN TO GROW LONGER. 

Sealing; animal life dining llio wintoi—Idle indoms—A sledge-|oinney iindei 
difficulties— Summei weuthei in the middle ol wintoi—I'loiui.ilions loi ihe 
gioat slcdge-espodilion soutllwaids. 

It ought not to appear at all surprising that in winLui-time 
the animal-world withchaws from a land where the dim ale 
is so uninviting as that we had experienced. Nature lies 
around us silent and deserted, and it would bo difficult to ex¬ 
perience feelings more depressing than those called up by these 
variations of unendurable storms and perfectly still, sunshiny 
days—-days, however, which are not able to develop any lilo 
in our surroundings. 

It was, therefore, quite a day of rejoicing when, on Ihe .|lli 
July, on making a little trip with the sledge for the purpose of 
taking a sounding out m the channel, I found behind an iceberg 
one of these little holes in the ice, which seals keep open in 
Older to be able to come to the surface and breathe, and also 
saw beside it unmistakable traces of a seal, and of one, too, 
which had lately been up on the ice. “ Now we shall soon 
have fresh meat, and maybe there is fish here besides,” I at 
once wrote in my diary, and hurried to relate my discovery to 
those at home. 





ANTARCTICA. 


184 

Our later experience showed that one cannot count upon 
finding seals during the dailcest months of the year, even 
though the winter be mild. But, on the 18th August, wo had 
a remarkably line, warm day alter the lengthy period oJ cold 
already described. I was at home at the station busied with 
the first preparations lor the coming sledge-expedition, when 
Bodman came running in Irom the ice with the news that a 
seal lay out there In the middle ol the sound, about three 
miles irom the station, there was a huge icebeig aground, in 
shape resembling a church with a high square tower, and 
lorming togethei with Cockburn Island the central point of 
our daily view, and it was here that Bodman had seen the 
animal in question. Elcclol at once ran in lor a gun ; l took 
the Mauser pistol and we both hurried off. Even at a distance 
we could perceive two dark objects on the ice, and they soon 
showed themselves to be actually two seals lying there., They 
were greenish-grey in colour, with some not very pronounced 
spots, and had short heads with broad projecting muzzles. 
When we came somewhat nearer they lilted their lie,uls a 
little and moved Ihemselves to and fro, to scent these unex¬ 
pected visitors, of whom, however, they did not otherwise 
exhibit the slightest feai. This enabled us to go close up to 
them, and two shots put a speedy end to their lives. 

This was a good catch, lor it meant fiesh meat for ourselves 
and many dainty meals loi our by no means well-fed dogs. 
For the present we contented ourselves with ripping them up 
and cutting out some of the best bits, after which we hurried 
back to avoid an approaching south-west storm; but it need 
not be said that we felt satisfied with our day’s work. In the 
evening we ate seal-heel, but according to the entry in my 
diary, it did not come up to my expectations, nor to theirs 
whose longing lor fresh meat was greater than mine. In any 
case, this latter fact should be a most unequivocal proof that 
we had good tinned meats and good cookery, lor there can be 
no doubt but that seal-flesh, fried in butter and served in the 
way we had it, is most excellent food. 

The seals were not the only traces of animal life observed 






186 


ANTARCTICA. 


during the winter, for we saw coimorants a couple of times, 
and even so near to the middle of winter as dm mg our slcdgc- 
journey m July, one of them was seen sitting on the snow in 
the vicinity oi our camping-place. With these exceptions, 
the snowy petrel, Pagodroma , seems to be the only bird which 
can be met with so far south at this time of the year. 

Although we did our best to busy ourselves out-oi-doors as 
much as possible, both as regards work and recreation, still 
the greater part of our time during these months was spent 
within the four walls of our dwelling-house. It is a pcculiai life 
one leads under such conditions ; those who have not tried it 
can hardly imagine what it means to spend a whole winter 
thus deprived of the possibility of moving beyond narrowed 
limits and restricted to a circle of companions so small as mu ft 
was. The members of an expedition on board of a vessel aie 
much better off in these respects It is easiest to hold together 
at the beginning, ere everyone has learned to know everybody 
else thoroughly—inside out, so to say—for it so easily happens 
that it is the weak sides of the party that then become most 
noticeable For the sake of harmony it is undoubtedly 
desirable that such a “ hermit ” company should be as homo¬ 
geneously composed as possible. For ourselves, we never 
neglected any lugh-days or holidays, and when there was none 
m the calendar, we very often made occasion for one. Such 
times were always cosy and agieeable, and in between these 
feasts each one did, as a rule, his own work, and what with 
all this work that rested upon us and what with our rich supply 
°t leading, wc were never obliged this winter to take refuge m 
card-playing, or other such ways of passing the time. 

Tt is strange that, under such circumstances, one thinks so 
little of what can be taking place in the outer world, and does 
not miss the news of daily changes. We had brought with us 
a number of old newspapers, which, it is true, were read and 
re-read until their contents were known almost by heart; 
but in spite of this it appeared to us almost as if these 
chronicles were something outside and foreign to us, nor did 
we often speak to each other on such subjects. Just about 




At the writing-table O Noidensltjold 


i88 


ANTARCTICA. 


this period I wrote in my diary that I had the lceling that, 
should circumstances render it necessary, one could so accus¬ 
tom oneseli to this mode of hie that one would never icel the 
need of anything else ; this sentiment was, however, exag¬ 
gerated, and I cannot now adhere to it after the longer experi¬ 
ence I had in the matter. 

We were, on the whole, very well satisfied with our house. 
We had gradually got everything inside well arranged, and by 
means of making the greatest possible use of the space- 
putting up shelves m all imaginable places, etc.—wc had good 
room for our things. I think almost that we suffered the 
greatest inconvenience from the warm penods which now 
and then succeeded the storms and cold, lor then the layers 
of ice along the walls melted, and formed, together with the 
snow and sand we brought in on our boots, a thick mud in 
which one was obliged almost to wade, Several of our things 
were spoiled by this damp ; boxes, lor instance, which stood 
by the walls, loosened in the joints, so that when one went 
to lift a box, the top part would come off and leave the bottom 
frozen fast in the ice on the floor. 

At these warm periods, too, the moisture on the floor always 
had its counterpart in the droppings irom the ceiling, for oi 
course ice had also formed up in the loft, and now this melted 
and ran down on us so that those who lay in the upper berths 
had to make special contrivances in order not to become wet 
through. And it was not always water alone which thus 
dripped on to us, for wc had a large number of flasks and bottles 
in the loft, the contents of which froze and often burst their 
envelopes. Such cases were least unpleasant when, on nearer 
examination, it was found to be claret which thus trickled down 
from above ; or, at least, wc thought so as long as we had such 
a supply of the article that we need not grieve lor the loss of 
a bottle or two. But it was a more serious matter when there 
came a little stream of black ink, or some drops of a corrosive 
and poisonous photographic dcveloping-mixture, 

The short sledge-journey in July had only been a prepara¬ 
tory one, and immediately after my return from it I com- 



THE DAYS BEGIN TO GROW LONGER 189 

menecd lo plan a longer expedition. From our experience of 
the preceding summer, we calculated that the Antarctic could 
be expected, at any time after the middle of November, and 
so wc thought that we had but till that date for the execution 
ol such journeys ; and I knew very well, loo, that we had a. 
great deal to do 111 our immediate surroundings, much of 
which could be carried out only in warmer weather. 
Thus it was not at all strange that I hesitated ere I deter¬ 
mined on an expedition to other Lracts which should occupy 
my time and attention during the whole of the spring. At the 
beginning of August 1 made the following entry m my diary : 
“ I go now every day thinking how I shall manage about the 
sledge-] ourney. Had we but a sufficient number of dogs, I 
should have no doubts in tire matter at all; but when we have 
only four or five serviceable animals; when our party is so 
small that T have scarcely any choice in the matter of com¬ 
panions, and when we have so much work here in the neigh¬ 
bourhood and are fully conscious of the fact that the observa¬ 
tions at home here will suffer by our sledge-journey, there is 
good reason for consideration on the subject. And still I 
consider that we have no choice in the matter, for it is one of 
our most important tasks to find out what this so much 
talkcd-of Graham Land really is , whether it is a continuous 
stretch of country or a group of islands; how far it goes to the 
southward, etc., and then, should we have the same ice-condi¬ 
tions as we experienced last summer, it will be impossible 
to carry out this work from the ship Everything that is 
known of this coast shows that it is one of extraordinary interest 
m scientific respects, and it would be a shame for a wintering- 
party to lie here a whole winter and not extend its knowledge 
beyond that which can be acquired by every ship’s expedi¬ 
tion m a shorl summer No ! We must do our best to explore 
these tracts, and even should we not come so far south as I 
wish to do, we shall not, in any case, be in want of work, nor 
our labour, I hope, be entirely without result.” 

It was evident to me from the beginning that if we wished 
to penetrate far to the south—farther, for instance, than 



ANTARCTICA. 


i go 

Larsen reached in 1893—we must be in possession of one or 
more depots, situated as far to the south as possible, m order 
that we might be able to complete our supplies from them. 
But as it had been impossible the previous summer to estab¬ 
lish any such points of support, with the exception of those 
which were made during the course of our boat-journeys, we 
had no other resource than to endeavour to do whatever was 
possible m this respect by means of a special slodgc-jouiney 
made before the start of the principal expedition. It was, 
therefore, my intention to make a great effort in the immediate 
future to establish such a depot on the Seal Islands, but it 
was plain enough that, with such conditions oi the weather as 
now prevailed, this journey would be both dillicult and dan¬ 
gerous. Sobral and Jonassen were to accompany me 011 
the expedition, which I intended to undertake as soon as 
possible after the- middle of August, when it was to be 
hoped that the worst jrart of the stormy weather would he 
past. 

Unfortunately, from the very beginning we met with a 
series of mishaps which did not cease ere our whole jilan tor 
the depot had been rendered impossible. I11 August, one of 
the Greenland bitches had puppies, of which, perhaps, we could 
expect help m the future, but the present result was that one- 
fourtli of our pack was rendered useless. And just when all 
preparations were well finished, on August 26th, an accident 
occurred which disabled another dog. Thus to draw our load 
we had now only three dogs at our disposition, even if we in¬ 
cluded Kurre, the Falklander, and under such circumstances 
it became from the very first scarcely advisable to extend 
the journey as far as to the Seal Islands ; for in the middle 
of September I should be obliged to begin my preparations 
for the chief expedition, while the provisiomng-party would 
be actually impossible if we thought of establishing a depot 
of any size, as it, of course, had been our intention to do. 
One essential difference between these tracts and North Polar 
regions must be remembered, and that is, that the storms 
here, as a rule, compel an expedition to lie still almost half 




We were, on the whole, well satisfied with our dwelling-house 


ANTARCTICA. 


192 

the time, and tills necessitates being equipped with much 
larger supplies than would be otherwise necessary. 

However, we started on the 30th August, intending to go 
first of all to the depot made in March, to examine it, and, 
should it prove necessaiy, open it, and remove a part of its 
stores as lar towards the south as possible, intending, in case 
of emergency, to use some large-sized iceberg which was fast 
frozen in the pack-ice, as our store-house. So when wc left 
the station our load was not specially heavy, but we were 
obliged to draw it ourselves to a very great degree, and in 
spite of all our efforts darkness came on before we could reach 
the depot. However, we had only a mile or two left when we 
pitched our tent out on the ice, where we wei e sheltered pretty 
well by a large ice-liummock. 

But during the night we were harassed by our old enemy, 
the storm, and we were obliged to stay in the tent the whole 
of the following day. It was raiher cold, the thcimometer 
inside showing —30° C. (—22° F.), and Sobral, who on this 
occasion tried the fur-dress in a somewhat improved form, 
felt the cold a little, but the time passed pretly quickly, en¬ 
livened with small talk. The next morning, September 1st, 
the weather was happily calm again, but when I stepped 
outside the tent I made a discovery which most essentially 
modified the plan of this journey. The only one of the dogs 
who was visible was Kurrc, who lay hall-buried in the snow ; 
the other two animals had disappeared, and no amount of 
calling and shouting could bring them back. 01 course, it 
had been very unwise ol us not to fasten them up, but they 
had never before tried to escape. On this occasion, however, 
their longing for their comrades at home had been too powerful 
for them, and they had followed our tracks back to the station. 
It would take at least two days to go there and fetch them 
again, and afterwards we might be at once overtaken by a 
storm of longer duration, and as we were already in September, 
there was nothing else for us to do than to give up all thoughts 
of a depot further to the south and to concentrate our energy 
still more upon the chief expedition. 



THE DAYS BEGIN TO GROW LONGER 193 

Wc let the tent remain standing, and filled our knapsacks 
with the things which were to be added to those 111 the depot, 
after which wc went thither on foot, and found it, as we had ex¬ 
pected, in the same state as it had been left half a year earlier, 
with the exception that it had been covered with a little snow 



Photo fi;i] 


[B. EMi.du. 


Jonassen with one of the Gicenland dogs. 


during the winter. After having arranged the depdt we made 
some short excursions in the neighbourhood, each one going 
his own road, and I turned my steps in the direction of Cape 
Foster, where I made a careful study of the ice and the condi¬ 
tions of the terrain, and collected specimens of rock under the 
perpendicular tuff-cliffs, from which enormous blocks fell now 
and then, smashing the ice in their fall. 


13 





194 


ANTARCTICA. 


On the next day we began our journey home, and of course 
had no other choice than to harness ourselves to the sledge, 
for Ivurre by himself was of more trouble than use. ft took 
seven hours to cover a distance of 20 kilometres (12 miles) 
with a load which weighed in all about 135 kilogrammes 
(297 lbs ). In want ol training as we were, this was the 
greatest exertion of winch wc were capable, but I was glad of 
the experience, for now I could complete my calculations 111 
tins respect, too, for the proposed long sledge-journey. 

I had determined that this last-named expedition should 
start southwards on the first fine day alter the 20th September, 
and we had a laborious tune until then. We had 0111 usual 
winter weather to begin with, even if it was not so cold as it 
had been, but in the middle of the month there came a poi tod 
which, m meteorological respects, was a very remarkable one. 
The only lands of weather which had hitherto shown any signs 
of lasting had been either the severe south-west storms with 
cold, or calms which sometimes ended with faint winds horn 
the north-east. Rut now we had an exceedingly strong 1101 lli- 
west wind almost unintciruptedly for a week, which brought 
such warmth with it as we had never experienced here bofote, 
On the 16th September, the mean temperature was as much 
as +2 0 C. (35.6° F.), and these tweuty-lour hours were the 
warmest period wc had, not only during the time which had 
already elapsed, but also during the whole of our first year 
here, the summer included. But it was still more wonderlul 
that, even at this tunc, which, of course, must be considered 
as belonging to the winter, the ice in the open sea began to 
break up and drive out from land to such an extent that we 
had open water as far as we could see, both to the north and 
south. It was strange to recollect this phenomenon when at a 
later period, and during the so-called summer, we went up on 
the heights and always saw the same closely-packcd masses of 
ice. Thus, il the Antarctic had only lain ready to start, she 
would have been able to communicate with us even now in 
September. The experience gained during these days had 
much influence on our plans for the future, both that it made 




View from one of the ravines at the station , Mount Haddington in the background 





ANTARCTICA. 


196 

us all of the opinion that we could expect open water and the 
Antarctic at an early period of the summer, and also that it 
gave us a sharp warning against making sledge-]ourneys with¬ 
out having a boat at hand, on ice which thus showed that it 
could be dispersed so easily. 

The wind was the whole tune so violent that it would have 
been anything but pleasant to be out 011 the march ; but these 
days were of great service to us on account of the work of 
various kinds which had to be done in the open. When we 
were nearly ready to start, however, the weather had once 
more changed, and the equinoctial storms began to let us leel 
their impetuous strength ; we had one of the usual Inn ricancs 
from the south-west, and it continued lour days without inter¬ 
ruption. The snow did not drift so heavily as before, hut it 
formed a thick cloud round about the glacier, and on the 
plain the snow whirled forward in long, thin, snako-like, 
plaited lines, reminding one of iamt, undulating smoke. The 
wind came m heavy gusts and the stones flow against the 
walls with more violence and to a greater height than usual, 
so that one of the window-panes was broken 

This change in the weather had a very depressing influence 
on ns all, and there was no question but that we grow more 
weary of the storms now than during the winter. 1 wrote in 
my diary : “ Noiv I should not like to stay here for another 
winter at a stretch.” The days passed slowly, although 1 
was busily employed making out llie best instructions I could 
for the vessel and for the men who were to remain at the 
station, and also in superintending our equipment. At last, 
in the forenoon of the 29th, the weather grew a little better, so 
that I could go up on to the highest plateau. What a change 
the ice outside had undergone ! Everything was once more 
as wmter-like as ever it had been, and there was not a trace of 
open water. 

When the evening fell, it was quite calm again ; the baro¬ 
meter was high, and we had everything m order for beginning 
on the morrow this long-detennined-on sledge-expedition. 




CHAPTER XII. 

TIIE SLEDGE-EXPEDITION, I902 : THE FIRST WEEK. 

Preparations. and equipment Tm, and plan of, 0111 expedition bonthwaids—We leave 
the station—The journey ovei the ice in Larsen Bay— Airival at Christensen 
Island and discoveiy ol Lhe ^nal ice leuace. 

At length the much-longed-for day had arrived—the day 
when, after a year’s imprisonment, I was to start on my 
journey of exploration With a whole world open before me 
Everything was to be new to me; I should have constant 
work—hard work it is true, but how much better that would 
be than the long days of storm and winter-darkness m our 
narrow hut. Whatever the result might be, 1 could always 
feel certain of being richly lewarded for my labour 

For the space of two months I had been incessantly occupied 
with the preparations for this journey. Jonassen had been 
my assistant; he had repaired, strengthened, and partly 
rebuilt the two sledges, and put 111 ordei all their accessories ; 
out of the little three-cornered silk-tent, sewn after Nansen’s 
model, and which had shown itself quite unsuitable for the 
unexampled storms for which we must be prepared, he had 




ANTARCTICA. 


198 

constructed a four-cornered, light and convenient tent, which 
we always afterwards employed on our expeditions, and which 
proved to be especially suited lor its purpose. He had 
ananged the implements we were to take, and had made ten 
large bags of canvas, intended for our provisions, and of such 
a length that they could be laid right across the sledge Sobial 
had also had much to do, and as for myself, I had ai ranged 
the scientific appaiatus belonging to our equipment and also 
the provisioning. The rations had been weighed and re¬ 
packed, so as to be of the least possible volume and weight, 
and 111 this respect we had every reason to be contented with 
the results obtained 

But besides these cares my time had also been devoted to 
the working-out of the plan of the journey, and of instructions 
for those who were to remain at tlic station. Even now I saw 
that, on the one hand, it would have been of a certain advan¬ 
tage to have arranged for taking only one companion and one 
sledge ; but, apart from other reasons, I was also of opinion 
that, as the conditions farther south were so little known, it 
was of a certain importance for our security that the party 
should consist of throe persons and two sledges—and the 
expedition was equipped in accordance with this latter alter¬ 
native. Sobral and I should pull the one sledge and shape 
the course, whilst Jonassen was to come behind with the 
other sledge and the live dogs, for we were once more able to 
employ all the four Greenlanders. I had hoped to lie able to 
stay away about sixty days if need be, but as It was not 
possible to take a full equipment lor the whole of this period, 
I resolved to take dog-pcmnucan for three weeks only, trusting 
to complete the provisions for the animals by means of killing 
seals and penguins on the way. 

It is an old rule that nothing can be ol grealoi importance 
when it concerns such a journey than to endeavour to avoid, 
if possible, taking the same way back, or, at least, to try by all 
possible means to facilitate and shorten the return march. In 
order to attain this object I left an order at the station that, 
on the 23rd November, the Antarctic should leave for the south 




Jonassen- Ekelof Akerlund 

Bodman- Nordenskjdld Sobral 

Eie we started a photograph was taken of all six of us 




200 


ANTARCTICA. 


and look for us at Christensen Island, for I considered it veiy 
probable that the vessel would arrive before that date, and 
during the intervening period our expedition would, if circum¬ 
stances were favourable, be undoubtedly able to reach a very 
high degree of southern latitude. 

To make certain of rising in time on the appointed day, I 
undertook the meteorological watch from 4 a.m. The weather 
was calm and fine, without being too cold. The last moments 
of such a start are always accompanied by many different and 
time-wasting cares which it is impossible to fully provide 
against beforehand, howcvei much one may wish i o do so; 
and this remark applies with special lorce to such a long expe¬ 
dition as our own, where one must not lorgct a single “ trifle,” 
the neglect of which will affect not only comfort, hut, it may 
he, even life itself. 

We made a good breakfast and then photographed ourselves 
all six together. The dogs were harnessed to the sledges and 
more photographs were taken down on the ice, but only of 
those who were going away; a parting glass ol wine was 
drunk, a few words of farewell were spoken, and we started 
a few minutes before noon. 

Our first destination was the depot beyond Cape Hamilton, 
where our supplies were to be completed and the loads put into 
complete order. The route at first lay over old well-known 
paths beneath the wall of ice where we used fo wander almost 
every day, and our comrades accompanied us for a little while. 
Nearly the whole of the load was on the dogs’ sledge, but the 
animals did not seem at all affected by the fact, but were more 
lively and more interested m their work than I had ever seen 
them ; it was quite as if they had some idea of the importance 
of the work which now lay before them. Out by an iceberg 
near the point ol the glacier, and just about the place where I 
discovered the first seal blow-hole, there lay a large seal 
sunning itself. The temptation was too great, and our com¬ 
panions resolved to stay in order to make themselves masters 
of the animal, so at x p m. we took a final leave ol each other. 
I had no great fear for the safety of either party, but consi- 




IN0K.DENSK3OLP. 




202 


ANTARCTICA. 


dered it very likely that we should not be back beioie the 
arrival of the Antarctic had completely alteted the state oi 
things at the station I little thought that wc had still more 
than a year to pass together ere relief came. 

The ice m the sound was as level as a llooi and of a nice 
hardness, so that the dogs drew the two sledges—for wc had 
fastened ours behind theirs—at such a speed that we weie 
almost obliged to run to keep up with them Behind Cape 
Hamilton the ice began to be much more covered with snow, 
a phenomenon we had found on the occasion of each of our 
journeys Although this made the going heavier we were 
still able to cross the last high wall of ice and snow and to 
reach the clepbt by about 6 o’clock From this point the 
ice lay before us free and open, and without hindrance as far 
as the eye could see towards the south Behind Cape Foster 
lay, like a faint line, the “ land of longing,” that stretch oi 
land to which in clear weather my gaze had been so often 
turned. “ Shall we find there what we seek,” I wrote in my 
diary, “ or will this faint enticing vision deceive us, though 
now it promises so fair ? ” 

It began to blow a little during the night, but we were not 
at all inconvenienced by it. I quote again . “It grows almost 
too warm sleeping with one’s clothes on, and I shall be obliged 
to take off some of them if this weather continues.” 

When we awoke, a new month had commenced, and with 
it began our work m unknown regions I was up early and 
made a cup of chocolate, after which we all helped to arrange 
the food supply. It being the last occasion for a long time 
that we should have a superfluity of food and fuel, we seized 
the opportunity to take a good breakfast, and also tried to 
induce the dogs to eat heartily, but this with little success, for 
they were not yet accustomed to dry food By noon our work 
was done and the sledges loaded, and off we went along the 
smooth surface, across fissures, snow-bridges and walls of ice. 
Our expedition was begun in earnest. The load we had when 
we left the depot was divided m the following way : the 
front sledge, which had not been strengthened and was drawn 



203 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902 

by Sobral ancl myself, carried the tent, sleeping-bags and 
some pnvate equipment, together with skis, a spade, ice-axe, 
and a little bag of instruments, such as might be needed during 
the journey, the total weight, sledge included, being about 
go kilogianimes (200 lbs.) ; the second sledge, which had 
been much strengthened 111 older to be able to carry its heavy 
buiden, was loaded with Lhe lemainder of the equipment, the 
provisions, the petroleum, cooking-apparatus, etc., amounting 
to some 220 kilogrammes (485 lbs ) m weight, and was drawn 
by the five dogs under the guidance of Jonassen. 

The air was very warm when we came out on to the ice ; 
the sun felt burning hot and it was quite still. The going was 
not very good, lor the snow lay lather deep, often in the form 
of low walls lying ncaily in the line of direction of the coast, 
and thus obliquely to our couise. These snow-walls are the 
same as those called in North Polar regions by the Russian 
name ol “ sastrugi ” ; they have a long, even slope to wind¬ 
ward ancl end with a perpendicular or an overhanging 
notch. 

As we have seen, the difference m the weights of the two 
sledges was considerable, and therefore I was in the highest 
degree astonished when I saw how incomparably easier it was 
for them to draw their load than it was for us to pull ours. 
Although I did my utmost to march briskly, and at the same 
time tried to husband our strength by means of pauses every 
hall-hour, it appeared really difficult for the dogs to go as 
slowly as we did, and Jonassen was able to sit on his sledge 
and ride for long distances. All this was quite the contrary 
of the experience I had hitherto gained, for otherwise many 
of our arrangements would have been made very differently, 
but now it was too late to make any changes, and it was, of 
course, impossible to put all the load on the dogs’-slcdge. 

I shall leave it chiefly to my diary to describe the events of 
the following days. 

October 2nd —“ The morning was still fresh and cold, hut 
without wind. We moved one of our sacks of provisions on 
to Jonassen’s sledge, which made marching a little easier. 



204 


ANTARCTICA 


Although the temperature did not use above — io° C. (14 0 F.), 
the sun felt hot and we had not a breath oi wind to cool us. 
‘ I think it feels quite as hot as it does in Buenos Ayres during 
the summer ! ’ was Sobral’s remark. It was heavy going , 
there was much snow on the ice, which was as dry as sand, and 
we had incessantly to cross new sastrugi. The burning sun, 
together with the cold, acted powerfully on the skin of the 
face, which peeled under the nose, while the lips cracked and 
became swollen We were most distressed by thirst, which 
was only momentarily lelieved by lime-juice pastilles and bits 
of apples We stayed once m Older to melt a little snow to use 
as drinking-water, but this had no lasting effect either. 
Nansen says that during his wanderings over the ice, he felt 
nothing of the ‘ Arctic thirst, 1 and explains the matter by 
the fact that he had the opportunity of drinking as much as 
he wanted every morning and evening. Our experiences do 
not agree m this respect, for we weie in no want of water at 
meal-times. In cold weather with strong wind 011c is not 
thirsty, at least when one does not work too hard, but when one 
is obliged to slave so that the whole body becomes wet with 
perspiration, I believe that it is impossible to escape in any 
way from a thirst which, just under such conditions, becomes 
increased to the uttermost. 

“By 2 p.m. we had passed Cape Foster, and gazed with 
curiosity and interest at our new world. Without making 
any other change m its character, the coast of Haddington 
Land made a great sweep backwards, and we saw before us a 
bight which stretched northwards as far as the eye could 
reach * The opposite side of this bight consists of a high, 
snow-covered, mountainous land, with sharp, pyramidal peaks 
rising amidst the snow ; one long promontory especially was 
filled with an enormous, shapeless mass of land. It was the 
continuation of King Oscar’s Land, the same tract which had 
been first seen by human eyes from the deck of the Antarctic 
on the 20th January. 

* This was the entiance to the great Crown Piince Gustaf Channel, which we 
explored more thoioughly dining a sledge-expedition a yeai later. 



205 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 

“Alter eight hours’ march we stopped at 6 p.m., and I was 
more fatigued than I remember ever having been before 
After the warm sunshine the evening felt quite cold, although 
it was not more than —17 0 C. (1.4 0 F.).” 

October y r d .—“ We have now to determine which course 
we shall hold. The charts give the impression that, even at 
this distance, one should be able to catch a glimpse of the Seal 
Islands on a clear day, but we at least can see nothing in that 
direction. But stay ! Directly south-west lies a little, indis¬ 
tinct, shining point which may be an iceberg, but is possibly 
land. I determine to direct our course thither. Of course, 
we were tempted to steer nearer in to King Oscar’s Land, but 
as this stretches so far towards the west, our doing so would 
have excluded every thought ol penetrating farther south¬ 
wards, not to speak of such a thing being m direct opposition 
to the agreement we had made, to deposit the hist news of 
our journey on Christensen Island. 

“ We are still without wind, and to-day is still warmer than 
yesterday; the fact of the sun hiding behind clouds makes 
the light yet more dazzling to the eyes, and however uncom¬ 
fortable snow-spectacles may be, I am now reduced to using 
them. Though the meshes at the sides are almost too large, 
the glasses are often covered with perspiration, which after¬ 
wards freezes, so that one’s patience is tiied to the utter¬ 
most by the necessity of constantly wiping the spectacles, 
especially when it is alieady difficult enough in such light to 
steer a true course amid * nothingness,’ lor it is only now and 
then that our iceberg looms dimly on the quivering, deceptive 
horizon. At last I change our course, and make for a dark 
and very distant point which has more the appearance of 
land.” 

October 4th .—“ In the dusk of last night the ‘ iceberg-island ’ 
looked so dark that I almost believed it to be a previously 
unknown island, but in to-day’s morning light we could see 
that it was an iceberg. We passed it about noon, but then 
we began to be convinced that the dark spot observed since 
yesterday really was land, and, in that case, must be one of 



20 6 


ANTARCTICA 


the Seal Islands It is a good filing to have some object to¬ 
wards which to steer, for the light is most trying to the eyes.” 

October 5 th —“Wind from the south-west, with dense 
masses of whirling snow, which make it impossible to think 
of continuing our march. I shall not complain, however, for 
a day of rest will do us good, and, besides, it is Sunday. T 
have not been so tired the last few evenings as I was at first; 
I suppose one grows accustomed to this kind of life, but it 
is a hard one m any case.” 

October Jth —“Off before 9 am We did not a moment 
doubt but that wc should reach our island to-day, but we 
meant, 111 any case, to march briskly, in 01 der to be able to do 
as much as possible on arrival. When one has been travelling 
on nothing but ice for a whole week one soon acquires a longing 
for the solid earth and solid food , a good seal-steak would be 
most appetising, and we trust to get one at the ' Seal ’ Islands. 
Before us lies the island, an immense dome of snow, piciced by 
a high pillar-like mass of rock. Sometimes it appears so near 
that it seems possible to reach it in a couple of hours, and then 
it grows distant again We soon discover that the last 
opinion is the correct one, when, under the rocky pillar itself, 
we notice a perpendicular, dark line oi shore make its appear¬ 
ance on the horizon, and find that it is first now that we begin 
to see the lower land. We march as quickly as we can, but 
still a long while elapses ere we can mark that we come any 
nearer to the island. Towards evening we made a last effort ; 
we hooked our sledge on to that drawn by the dogs, which 
Sobral then helped to manage, and I marched ahead for more' 
than an hour at my biiskest pace This had a good effect, 
but the dogs were tired out too, and as I wished to reach our 
goal to-day, we were once more obliged to harness ourselves to 
our sledge. Wc could, of course, have stayed for the night 
where we were, but we were, as always, afraid of the storm, 
and then, too, I hoped we should be spared much work the 
next day if we managed to reach our goal that evening; for I 
could not think at the time that it would be the other way 
about, and that we should be obliged to retrace a great part 




Photo 







208 


ANTARCTICA. 


of our way. At last, after nearly eleven hours’ march, and long 
after sunset, we reached the smooth, snow-free ice close under 
the island. Here we were obliged to pick our way over 
crevasses and fissures, and between mighty loose-lying blocks 
of ice, ere we could pitch our tent near the foot of the land 
itself.” 

October 8th .—“ It was to-day that we were to he still and 
explore new land. But is it really new ? It does not bear 
much resemblance to the charts, but still, I think I know where 
we are Behind this land, with its snow-free rocks and its 
mantle of ice, I see a lofty, continuous dome of ice, which 
stretches southwards as far as the eye can reach—a land 
Which m every respect reminds one of Snow Hill. It must be 
Robertson Island, and in that case it is clear that wc have 
come to Christensen Island, and that little dark pyramid 
visible to the north-west is the island called by Larsen, Lin- 
denberg’s Sugar-Loaf, and behind it peep out the Seal Islands 
proper. All the islands are smaller than they appear to be on 
the chart, which is not so very incorrect in other respects. As 
soon as it was possible I ascended the hill in company with 
Jonassen. Aftei climbing a very precipitous steep, where we 
were often obliged to hew steps m the snow, we came to a 
beautiful, semi-circular terrace situated about 65 meties (212 
feet) above the sea. This is probably a part of the ancient 
crater, We then continued by a less steep, but still fairly 
troublesome, path up to the top, at the height of about 300 
metres (975 feet). The rock everywhere consists of lava and 
tuff, but any volcanic activity has certainly not occurred here 
for long ages back. 

“ The interest with which we viewed the surrounding land¬ 
scape from that spot can easily be understood. An ice-wall 
extended from tlie foot of the mountain, and stretched as far 
as one could see, past Lmdenberg Island. I could not at first 
understand the significance of this, but Jonassen, who was of 
a more pessimistic nature, and less inclined to set faith on the 
accuracy of previously-existing maps, was the first to grasp 
the situation. Everything that lay before us to the west and 



209 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 

south-west, everything that surrounded the Seal Islands, was 
one immense mass ol ice, m a word, the Seal Islands are not 
islands, but mere nunataks* ; neither are they ever visited by 
seals From where we were the ice-wall seemed to be of no 
height, but it was evident that it would cause us much trouble, 
for our way lay up and over it. To steer to the east of Robert¬ 
son Island would have been the same thing as to cut ourselves 
off from all possibility of work and geographical explorations 
on land. 



PUolo 5j] [Noudjunshoid. 

Mount Cluistensen from the lower terrace. 


“ I at once began my measurements and other work up 
there, whilst Jonassen returned to the shore to try and get a 
seal for food, for although these animals were not to be found 
at the Seal Islands, they were numerous enough here. We 
met with both young and old seals; the former, most 
beautiful little animals with light, soft skins, and as round as 
balls with the milk they lay sucking m. When I returned, 
one young one had already been disposed of; the dogs lay 

* “ A nunatak is a rocky hill, generally glaciated, projecting from an ice-sheet, or 
from an inland ice ,”—The Antarctic Manual , 1901, 


14 




210 


ANTARCTICA 


there so glutted that they could scarcely move, and Jonassen 
was frying some tit-bits. I must confess that during all my 
journeys in uncivilized regions I have scarcely eaten any dish 
that tasted so well as this did. The meat had not the least 
taste of tram-oil, neither had it that toughness which is 
common to all the land animals of the Arctic regions, and even 
to the birds down here. But it may very well have been that 
the soup-diet of the preceding week influenced this judgment 
m some degree. 

“ Sobral had been down on the shore the whole time, making 
an astronomical observation.* After dinner I took a long 
walk in order to make an examination of the newly-discovered 
glacier-edge This at first seemed to be quite inaccessible, but 
after walking lor a couple of hours m the direction ol Lm- 
denberg Island, I at last found a place where I hoped we 
should be able to get our sledges up. 

“ It is my intention to leave a supply of the less necessary 
provisions at Christensen Island, and fetch them on the return 
march, should it lead us this way. But I shall not establish 
a complete depot here, so as not to depiive ourselves of all 
possibility of taking a route home nearer to King Oscar’s 
Land. A letter with information as to our j ourncy Is deposited 
'in the cairn m a well-corked tube. The next place where I 
now promise to give further news is at Cape Framniis ; the 
future will show ll evei we reach that place.” 

* It showed that we were in hit. 65° 4' b. and long. 59“ 3' W The length of the 
way we had come in our seven clays’ march was about 140 kilameUcs (84 miles). 



CHAPTER XIII. 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, I902 (CONTINUED) : TOWARDS 
KING OSCAR’S LAND. 

Ascent of the lcc-lcuncc, anti journey between the Seal nunalaks—Flan of the day’s 
matching—Some long clay's. marches—The pctind of stoims begins—0\ei 
fissmes anti crevasses to the land -A day of misfortunes 

October 9TII. —“ There came a few gusts of wind this morning 
which made me remain in the sleeping-bag until seven, but 
then I hurried up, for provisions for a new week had to be 
taken out, and we had to finish the arrangement of the depot. 
The sun had never felt so broiling hot as now, when we picked 
our way along the foot of the ice-wall and amid the innu¬ 
merable icebergs of all sizes that lay in its front It took us 
a good three hours’ march in an almost direct line back before 
we found a place where the barner could be ascended without 
adventure, along an enormous snow-drift, which had formed 
at its base in the shelter of a long iceberg, and it was not before 
4 p.m. that we had regained the level of our morning’s starting- 
point. Our course now lay directly towards the most easterly 
of the nunalaks which rose amid the ice, and the road was at 
first a very steep one. It was in the greatest uncertainty of 
the difficulties we might meet with here that I began this 
journey on the land-ice ; but happily the ice was excellent, 
level, covered with hard snow, almost free from sastrugi, and, 
above all, was quite without wide fissures—the things of which 
we had the greatest fear. ’ In the evening we pitched our tent 

14* 






212 


ANTARCTICA. 


quite near the extensive as*, which had been our goal the whole 
of the day. The same evening I made a ramble m the neigh¬ 
bourhood It was already dusk when I came up amidst these 
exceedingly wild, black peaks, which still displayed the dis¬ 
torted forms in which the once glowing, molten lava had 
hardened. But one can hardly give the name of volcano to 
this mountain, which I have called Oceana-nunatak. The 
weather m the evening looked very threatening, but we 
managed to escape a storm We have had quite an excep¬ 
tional period of fine weather—eleven days and but one storm 
—and this has been of the greatest importance for our sledge- 
journey, for otherwise we should not have been able to come 
so far just at the time when our loads were heaviest.” 

But this day saw the close ol the period of good fortune. 
When we came down to the level ice the next morning, we 
directed our course towards the next nunatak, but we had 
not gone far ere a storm from the south, accompanied with a 
heavy snowdrift, suddenly broke loose upon us. I turned in 
towards the land in order to gain shelter under its nearest and 
western point, which we succeeded in reaching after an hour’s 
hard march in the face of the storm. On reaching the place 
we found, running along the entire length of the mountain a 
deep gully, or depression in the ice, formed by the warmth 
of the sun being so strongly concentrated on the dark wall of 
the cliff. As we hoped to find lee in this valley wc meant to 
take our sledges there ; the descent was both great and steep, 
hut whilst I went to look for a place where we could go down, 
Jonassen, growing impatient, drove dogs and sledge straight 
down the ice-wall. The sledge turned over at the steepest 
part of the incline and the next moment man, dogs, and sledge 
rolled pell-mell on top of each other down into the hole. I 
rushed forward in terror, for one could not an instant imagine 
that Jonassen would come off scot-free ; the least I expected 
was that he had broken a limb. But wonderful to relate, 
neither he nor the dogs had injured themselves in the least, 
and the only thing that showed itself in want of repairs was 

n 

*An as is a ridge of stone or gravel, believed to have been formed by glacial 
action ,’ 1 —The Antarctic Manual. 



THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 


13 


■one of the petroleum-cisterns, which leaked badly. We put 
up our tent and lay in the ice-v alley for the remainder of the 
■day. I finished my diary-entry for the day with the words: 

So this day is ended ; we shall see what we have to meet 
with next. We have occasion enough for anxiety in our little 
party, but we must hope that we shall not encounter too great 
natural difficulties. We have an entirely unknown region 
before us; a region where none knows with what surprises we 
■shall meet. I intend heading south-west, where I hope to 



FllOlO 5jf] [NOKDENSKJOLD 

Out camping-ground at the Castor Nunatak. 

reach land, but this glacier here makes it clear for me that 
there will be little probability of finding food for the dogs, 
and in that case, of course, all hope will disappear of being 
•able to remain away as long as I had hoped to do ” 

The next day began with cold and mist. Our first business 
was to come up out of our cave, and then we had to ascend 
the high snow-wall which unites the nunataks called Castor 
and Plertha. But even when we had gained the heights we 
■could see nothing on account of the fog, which lay heavily 
along the lower levels, and we were obliged to steer by compass 





ANTARCTICA. 


214 

to the south-west, m the hope that we should not fall in with 
any perpendicular descent. We were fortunate in this respect, 
for the sledges glided down a gentle decline and the wind behind 
helped our progress. The mist lightened m the course of the 
afternoon, and by degrees we caught sight of the whole southern 
extension of King Oscar’s Land, where it seemed to end in a 
few isolated peaks showing dimly m the far distance. 

The wind from the north had increased steadily during the 
day, and after the weather we had now so long enjoyed, we 
began half to suspect that it was not the south-west wind which 
was the dangerous one at this season of the year ; and so, on 
arriving at our campmg-giound, we determined, for once in a 
way, to pitch our tent with the entrance towards the south— 
a most imprudent step, especially as we ought to have been 
prepared for a storm. When we first went into the tent, the 
north-easter freshened considerably, but only to cease as 
hastily and leave us with about five minutes of absolute calm. 
Then a sudden distant roar was heard, and the next instant 
our tent was shaken by a wind which was instantly recog¬ 
nised as “ it.” We were in hopes that it would prove a passing 
squall, but the wind continued to increase, and it grew quite 
cold inside the tent, where both wind and snow came, 111 
through the opening. Still, the tent held fast until Sobral 
went out in the morning to take the meteorological observa¬ 
tions, but then the, wind came m with so much force, that it 
was impossible to close the opening, and we were obliged to 
rise and turn the tent. This we succeeded in doing without 
having to move our belongings outside, and after a cup of 
coffee we crept into the sleeping-bags again 

The wind fell once more during the night, and then followed 
three days of work—days which, in consequence of the long 
marches we made, were amongst the most toilsome wc had on 
the journey, but they were also days amongst the richest in 
results. The air was bitingly cold, and we had a sharp wind 
in our faces tire whole time. I will give a description of one 
of these days, in order that the reader may have a clear picture 
of our life during this expedition. 




Our four footed comrades. 








2l6 


ANTARCTICA. 


In these latitudes at this season it is as good as light the 
whole night through, but usually none ol us rise earlier than 
about seven o’clock. It has become the rule for me to leave 
the slcepmg-bag first, and make breakfast; this latter task 
being a sour one enough under present circumstances. Our 
clothes, which have gradually become wet through with 
moisture and perspiration, stiffen in the air as soon as we 
leave our cold beds Before the tent-opening is unbuttoned 
one’s hands are as cold as ice, and they must be thrust into 
the mittens again as hastily as possible in order to thaw. The 
reflection m my diary, “ It’s cold work cooking,” includes a 
world of remembrances, for it was little pleasure to take out 
with freezing fingers all the necessary apparatus, light the 
Primus-stove, and set on the ice-filled pot. 

The bill of fare for breakfast is always the same, the chief 
dish being pemmican, made into a thick, porridge-like soup, 
the nutritive qualities of which one seems actually to feel. In 
addition we have coffee, meat-biscuits, butter and sugar. 
These rations have to last us the whole day, and they do, for 
really we experience no hunger till evening. 

As it is my business to cook, so it is Jonassen’s to take down 
the tent, load the big sledge and harness the dogs. Our sledge 
is usually made ready by Sobral. We start between nine and 
ten, and at present the march goes briskly, as we rest only once 
every hour, not counting the halts made for taking observa¬ 
tions. The speed depends upon the rate at which Sobral and 
I can drag our sledge, for the dogs always follow close at our 
heels. When we have gone forward in this way for about 
nine hours, we begin to look about for a suitable camping- 
place—level, and covered with snow which is neither too loose 
nor too hard—and when we have found the right place we take 
our sledges there. One of these is placed on either side of the 
tent, which is made fast by means of iron pins driven into the 
snow, and also by stays, some ol which are attached to the 
tent-poles and others to two horizontal bamboo-poles placed 
laterally. These latter stays are fastened to the sledges. 
Jonassen puts up the tent and takes from the sledges what is 



217 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 

wanted, after winch he feeds the dogs, and in the meantime I 
begin, with the help of Sobral, to get our supper ready. This 
meal is not at all such a substantial one as the breakfast, and 
consists of lentil- or pease-soup, alternately, and meat- 
chocolate, with bread, butter and pie, or, sometimes bacon. 
As soon as the meal is disposed of, the sleeping-bags are 
spread out. Jonassen and I creep into the large two-man bag 
of remcleei-skin. We take off our coats and put them under 
our heads, together with our shoes, these latter being stuffed 
full of hay, m order not to lose their form too much when 
they freeze during the night. Each of us has his guanaco- 
skin, which is wrapped around the upper part of the body 
These skins are, in my opinion, a most valuable addition to 
the ordinary outfit, for they weigh very little, but, thanks 
to them, one never, or seldom, feels the cold, and, what is 
more, those in the sleeping-bag become, by their use, inde¬ 
pendent of each other, so that the one who wants to lie with 
Ins head free can do so without disturbing the other. 

Sobral had brought with him a small sleepmg-bag of his own, 
made of canvas and treble blankets. It is not so warm as ours, 
and he is obliged to sleep fully dressed in order not to feel the 
cold. 

The clothes I wore during the day consisted of a homespun 
suit and two suits of underclothing, a fur cap, mittens, 
stockings and socks (the latter a mixture of wool and 
human hair), and over the socks, “ skallar ” * of reindeer-skin. 
During storms I had, m addition, wind-clothes of canvas, but 
it was very seldom these were needed. As long as one is in 
movement, one feels but little of the cold. 

According to our pedometer, we marched during each of 
these days a distance of 50,000 steps, or about 35 kilometres 
(21 miles). I need not say that during this time we made 
many new observations. The whole of that extensive Alpine 
landscape which we now approached in an oblique line must 
be regarded as unknown. Before us lay the tract called by 
Larsen, Mount Jason. As far as we could see, this, like 

» Soft boots with upturned toes, used with skis. 



218 ANTARCTICA 

Robertson Island, consists of a continuous ice-cap, at the edge 
of which some unimportant nunataks project irom the ice. 

But the most interesting thing of all was the remarkable 
ice-terrace over which we journeyed. At the end of these 
three days I had not fully made up my mmd whether it was 
old sea-ice or not that we were on, although the absence of 
all fissures and icebergs spoke against its being so. From a 
scientific point of view it is possible that such an idea was, at 
bottom, the most correct one, but the experience of the 
following days went to show that we had heic no sea-ice that 
could be compared with the phenomenon as previously known 
in other regions. 

I shall give from my diary some impressions of the days 
that followed. 

October xyth .—“ At last the storm has come in earnest ; 
here we lie in our bags and have nothing else to do than be 
patient A fine dinner we had on the 16th (as agreed on with 
those at the station), in order to celebrate the anniversary of 
our departure from Sweden ! A little chocolate, the water 
for which we obtained from snow which blew into the tent, 
and some bread and butter—our supper was dry bread and 
cocoa. It seemed for a moment as if the wind was going to 
fall, and through the low, whirling snow-drift we saw the wild, 
riven, jagged points, which here form King Oscar’s Land, in 
a glorious golden light, whilst in the north-east the full moon 
stood in a dark, deep-blue, smoky sky, which by no means 
boded good for to-day. And no long time passed either ere 
the wind was once more m motion, and now the air is once 
more as ‘ thick as pease-soup. 5 

“ This evening the weather is a little better, and we must 
hope for a fine day to-morrow Things have now gone so far 
that if I wish the expedition to obtain any decided results, 
everything must be concentrated on a rapid forward march. 
Afterwards, T shall have to trust to good fortune, good-will 
and good weather on the return journey, in order to be able 
to make a closer investigation of the tracts we have discovered. 
So I have determined to leave the little sledge here on the ice 




Several times we sank through broad fissures, and then we had to take prompt 


220 ANTARCTICA 

together with what equipment we do not absolutely need, and 
then to go forward with provisions for eight days only ” 

October 18 th —“ It blew hard again this morning and the 
prospects of being able to march seemed very few indeed, but 
the wind fell for a time and we started about noon. The wind 
soon freshened again but, at all events, our marching was 
brisker now that we had only one sledge. I went in front at 
as quick a rate as I could and the dogs had no difficulty in 
following. My intention was to reach the farthest of the 
peaks visible to the south. I calculated that it was a two days’ 
march off, and hoped afterwards to get a third day of hne 
weather in order to be able to continue our investigations 
on skis. 

“ Until now I had been in doubt whether it was sea-ice or 
glacier-ice we were on, but we met almost immediately with 
some fissures which showed that it was the latter kind This 
discovery annihilated all hope of being able to replenish our 
stock of provisions with seal-meat. And scarcely had wc 
become persuaded of this ere we observed another phenomenon 
which was both unexpected and unwelcome. Quite near our 
front rose the beginning of a long ice-wall, which started from 
the land to the west and disappeared on the horizon in the cast, 
where it probably met the masses of ice around Mount J ason. 
We should thus be obliged to ascend a new and lofty glacier- 
terrace, and we could see, even at a distance, that its icc was 
not so level as that we had ]ust crossed. The contrary wind 
we had, increased at the same moment, and the chances of our 
being able to make a long march became as few as they 
could be. 

“We soon reached the ice-wall, the lowest edge of which we 
mounted with ease, but when we had climbed this wc found 
much more difficult ground before us ; the ice for the space of 
about six miles being everywhere divided by innumerable 
crevasses, which, fortunately, lay for the most part at a sharp 
angle to our line of march, and were covered by pretty firm 
ice-bridges. In spite of the last favourable conditions it was 
unpleasant to march at a rapid pace in an entirely new tract, 



221 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902 

without having time to reconnoitre the ground, and at the 
ever-recurring risk of falling into a crevasse so deep as pro¬ 
bably to exclude all possibility of rescue. Our path lay close 
to broad, bottomless, yawning, blue abysses many yards 
deep, and over flimsy bridges of snow, which, on one side at 
least, were usually so thin that the foot went through. Several 
times I sank to my middle, but the worst adventure was over 
a broad crevasse, met unexpectedly after passing the real 
zone of Assures, Ere I could properly grasp the situation I 



Photo 6y] [KobdenSejowi 

At last we succeeded in finding a somewhat sheltered spot up amongst the rocks. 


sank to the armpits ; luckily I had time to place my ski-staff 
across the crevasse and managed to scramble up. The sledge 
and the dogs were close behind me and could not he checked 
before they were in the middle of the crevasse, and there 
Jonassen went through too. He caught hold of the sledge 
which, fortunately, stood, fast on the surface, and our united 
efforts brought the whole party safely over. The crevasse 
was large enough to have swallowed us, dogs, sledge and all, 
without leaving any trace of the occurrence. I need not say 
that 1 was glad to reach firmer ice. Our route then lay for 



222 


ANTARCTICA 


a time down a gentle decline, where we lost sight of our peak 
for a while ; we then ascended a long slope and came at last 
on level, hard, blue ice, with very little snow on it, up to the 
very foot of the hilly land, which we reached about six o’clock 
in the evening. 

“ We had had the south-west wind m our faces the whole 
day, but here it felt quite calm Wc chd not make much ado 
about choosing our camping-ground, but pitched the tent on 
the ice at the foot of a projecting, brown, weather-worn, rocky 
headland, torn by the frost into a mass of mighty blocks The 
reader can easily imagine with what feelings I hiuried forward 
to these rocks, the first spot trodden by human foot on the 
whole of the eastern coast of the mainland of West Antarctica. 
The rocks consisted of a porphyry containing numcious fiag- 
ments of some darker-coloured rock.” 

October igth .—“ It seems as if all Sundays were our black- 
letter days, but this has been the worst of them. Still, 1 ought 
to feel glad, when I write this, that we had already reached 
what had been the principal goal of the journey, for I fancy 
there will be hut little opportunity m the future of doing much 
more. When we crept into oui sleeping-bags it appeared to be 
pretty calm outside, but at 2 30 a.m the storm came on with 
increased violence and we soon found that we had not chosen 
a good camping-place. Close by there was a deep gully, 
between the mountain-side and the ice, of the same descrip¬ 
tion as the one in which we found such good shelter at the 
Castor nunatak. We had thought, too, m the evening, that 
we ought to take refuge there, and at 4 a.m., when the storm 
had grown too violent, we rose and went down into the place 
with all our things. It was unfortunate for us that the wind 
fell a little just at the moment, for this caused us to under¬ 
estimate its strength, and made us believe ourselves in security 
when we had pitched our tent in a place which appeared well 
protected. I had gone into the tent to arrange our things, 
when I could hear by Jonassen’s voice outside that some 
mishap had occurred. He came m the next minute, pale 
and exhausted, and said that he had almost broken his left 



223 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902 

arm with a block of stone winch he had been carrying up to 
stay the tent with He had slipped upon the smooth ice, and 
it was a piece of good fortune that he had not smashed his 
arm-bone, but as it was the arm swelled up at once and 
became quite blue. It cannot be wondered at if, for the 
moment, I pictured the future in very gloomy colours, just 
because none of us could judge of the extent of the injury, 
at the very least it would be difficult for him to use the arm for 
heavy work during the time we were away from the station. 

“ And we were not left 111 peace m our new camping- 
quarters either. The violence of the hurricane increased until 
at midday our tent split and there was nothing else to do but 
to leave it as quickly as we could. Greatly by the help of 
the wind we got our sledge up the now perfectly smooth ice, 
in order to try and find lee on the other side of the headland, 
where we had first pitched our tent. The gusts of wind came 
from both sides, but none of them had any real power. 
Jonasscn sewed the tent together m the midst of the wind, 
and got all the fingers of one hand frostbitten. In the mean¬ 
while, Sobral and I were at work high up amongst the rocks, 
where we cut a level place in a little ice-drift and made a 
terrace of stones, which was large enough to form a foundation 
for our tent. By 6 p.m. everything was in order, and I could 
begin to make dinner ready; it was a delightful feeling that 
.came over us when, having once more a roof over our heads, 
and having had a warm meal, we could again creep deep 
into our sleeping-bags.” 



224 


CHAPTER XIV. 

THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902 : THE JOURNEY HOME. 

We determine to tuin back—-View southwards from the most southern point reached 
—A penod of severe storms—Another storm period—Once more on the sea-ice 
—A long march—Arrival at the station. 

AFTER the events described 
above we had but one choice— 
that of returning to the station 
as speedily as wc could There 
weie many other circumstances 
that concurred to make us 
adopt this resolution—-the deep 
and numerous cievasses, which 
made it actually impossible to 
travel on other than fine days ; 
the difficult ground which lay 
before us ; the storm-period 
m which we were, and the diminution in our supply of 
provisions—for that very night the dogs discovered the 
sack in which was preserved what little there was left of their 
pemmican, and had not only eaten up that supply, but had 
also devoured the greater part of the sack, some harness and 
our whip, The torn tent must also he remembered, and what 
was perhaps the gravest obstacle of all—Jonassen’s injured 
arm, of the condition of which I could not judge. 

Still, in spite of all I might perhaps have made an attempt 
to push on at least one day’s march farther south, were it not 


' ,'fy tfttv-./V 

» * W Lw T, , '" i ' ""'W * 

,1 1 , fillip , _ , 




225 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 

for the hope I had of being more easily able to explore just 
those regions with the vessel. With the knowledge we now 
had of the tract, it ought not, in that event, to be difficult to 
penetrate with a light sledge so far southwards as to be able to 
explore the continuation of the land. 

But I was at least determined not to return ere I had in 
some degree reaped the fruits of our having reached so far 
south as we had. Unfortunately the storm continued unin¬ 
terruptedly, so that it was not before the afternoon that I 
could go on my ski up the top of the mountain at whose base 
we were encamped.* The ascent was not so very difficult; 
but there was too much wind and driving snow for me to have 
any very extensive view. I had to content myself, therefore, 
with some geological observations, which were of especial 
interest in respect to the numerous erratics which lay on the 
summit, carried there at a time when the ice must have been 
at least 300 metres (975 feet) thicker than now I also col¬ 
lected some specimens of the scanty growth of lichens there. 

Happily it was somewhat clearer the next morning, so that 
I could make the desired observations from the top. The 
land continues a little farther to the south, but seems to con¬ 
sist only of isolated peaks, of which even those farthest off 
are not very distant. Unless the land does not altogether 
cease, it apparently bends off here to the west. A narrow 
“ sound ” westwardf was especially noticeable, which ran in 
between two high mountain-crests as far as the eye could 
reach. It was, however, filled entirely with glacier-ice, and 
it is certain that no navigable strait exists between the 
northern end of Louis Philippe Land and southwards past 
the Polar Circle. 

The weather was not fine, but as it was pretty clear and we 
had a favourable wind we determined to leave the land and 

* To this hill I have given the name of Borchgiewink Nunalak 

I This “sound” has been named Richthofen Valley. It is of interest that the 
Belgian Expedition observed on the west coast and in just the same latitude a bay 
so deep that its eastern boundary could not be observed The future may perhaps 
show that the name Graham Land ought properly to be confined to the region south 
of this deep inlet. 


IS 



226 


ANTARCTICA 


return to our lormer camping-place. The spirit of the wind 
followed us for a while, soughing and whispering, and driving 
the snow whirling before us as we hurried down the steep of 
slippery ice. We followed our old tracks as far as possible, 
these sometimes standing out in marble-white relief against 
the blue-white ice, but sometimes also being concealed by 
newly-formed snow-drifts. By their means we managed to 
pass the crevasse-zone without any very great difficulty, and 
to come down on to the lower ice-terrace Here, too, we tried 
to follow our tracks, but we found it almost impossible to find 
the sledge we had left, for it was nearly covered with snow. 
We stayed here for the night, and I arranged the next week’s 
provisions. The dogs were obliged to be contented in future 
with £ kilogramme (9 ozs ) of our pcmmican daily. 

My plan was to follow the land as closely as possible on the 
way home, and our first mark was a projecting headland 
almost directly north. Here I hoped to be able to reach the 
land, m order to make a closer examination of the coast. 
Luckily we had a magnificent day on the 22nd October—the 
only time between our leaving the Seal Islands and our arrival 
home. Sobral made an observation of our position,* 
Jonassen employing the meanwhile in mending a leaky 
petroleum-cistern 

The march went forward briskly. My eyes being bad, I 
had a difficulty in seeing all the contours of the ice, but 
fancied, myself, that it looked rather unpromising in front, 
and my companions, too, thought we should fall in with a new 
glacier. So I steered a little more off the land, but still could 
not imagine but that our camping-place would lie so near the 
coast that I could reach the shore on loot. But what I liad 
called “ Cape Desire ” was to turn into Cape “ Disappoint¬ 
ment.” At our noonday rest I was nearly falling into a broad 
crevasse, but said nothing of the matter, in order not to make 
the others anxious. But all of a sudden the ice became more 
uneven, and at 5 p m. our march came to a sudden and unex¬ 
pected end in front of a canal-like crevasse, some 20 metres 

* Lat. 65° 48' S, and long. 62° 1 1 ' W. 



THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 227 

(65 feet) broad and almost as deep, which seemed to run in 
towards the land as far as the eye could reach. This crevasse 
was of great interest as it gave us a very clear idea of the inner 
structure of the ice. The same splendid stratification could 
be seen here as that which often occurs m the large icebergs, 
thus proving that the ice had been formed of layers of snow 
deposited, during long periods, the one upon the other, and 
being, too, a new proof of the transition, found in these 



Photo bl/'] [NORDENSKJtaD. 

View from our most southerly point, towards King Oscar II. Land, 
with RichthofenValley, 


regions, from glacier to sea-ice. I think, too, that the 
Antarctic icebergs need not necessarily have their origin on 
land, but that they can also be built up on a base of sea-ice in 
shallow water near the land. 

Instructive as this view was of the history of ice-formation, 
it was, on the other hand, equally unpleasant for us to he 
hindered m our march, for I saw at once that, under the cir¬ 
cumstances, we should meet with almost insuperable obstacles 
in the endeavour to reach land. We were obliged to march 
for nearly half-an-hour eastward ere we were able to cross the 

15* 






228 


ANTARCTICA. 


crevasse by means of a thin snow-bridge, and when we 
attempted to advance, we found that we were involved m a 
network of similar channels To avoid being obliged to camp 
m a tract where the least suspicion of fog would form an in¬ 
superable obstacle to our further progiess, we made a forced 
march, which continued until late in the evening. The ice- 
conditions were then better, although there were numerous 
fissures in the neighbourhood of our tent, 

October 2,3rd .—“ Had the weather but continued fine, no 
crevasses should have hindered me from going to the land, 
but the step became quite impossible with a fog which only 
now and then allowed us glimpses of the headland we had 
made such efforts to reach. It would, too, I thought, be inex¬ 
cusable to allow the expedition to be delayed by an uncertain 
expectation of being able to reach the land on the morrow, 
and so I continued our march northwards—but with an aching 
heart. It took a couple of hours ere we could escape from the 
fissure-zone and once more go forward without being every 
moment obliged to fear the sudden opening of an abyss before 
our feet. 

“ Although our sledge had been still further lightened by 
the transference of our sleeping-bag to the dogs’-slcdge, this 
day’s march was one of the worst I have ever experienced. 
My eyes, especially the left one, had been greatly affected by 
the continual strain in contrary winds and sunshine, imposed 
by the necessity of steering a true course. But the light we 
now experienced, without wind or sun, was the most trying 
thing for the eyes that can be imagined, and I experienced no 
relief, although I used both spectacles and veil. I am certain 
we took a crooked road to-day, but still we made good pro¬ 
gress. I did not trouble about using the pedometer, and 
we scarcely knew where we were when we stopped marching 
in the evening.” 

October 24 th .—“ I was up at 7 ; the weather was the 
same as yesterday’s, but we could not think of staying here 
with this level ice, so I asked Sobral to undertake the leading 
of the party whilst I drew our sledge by myself. After a while. 




Drawn [It. Ktjkt.Ien, from a photograph. 

King Oscar II. Land in lat. 65° 45' S. 



ANTARCTICA. 


230 

however, we put our sledge on top of the dogs 5 , and it was 
interesting to convince oneself with what comparative ease 
this latter heavy sledge, thus additionally burdened, was 
drawn by our five poor, exhausted dogs. Aftei a while 
Jonassen relieved Sobral as guide, but both of them had a 
difficulty m avoiding too great deviations from the course, 
and so we continued our march only until 4 p m for fear 
of coming too much out of the right path I hope that as 
this south-west wind increases we shall get clearer weather. 55 

October 2 6th .—“ Our good luck is at an end, and we must be 
glad that we have done so much as we have. The weather, 
far from changing for the better, grew so stormy that it caused 
us two of the worst days we have had. I have not been out 
of the tent the whole time, and the snow we needed for cooking- 
purposes was taken in through the tent-opening by means of 
a ladle. We had just got dinner over when it grew high time 
to look to our tent. We took away the foremost pole; the 
strap was fastened to the ice-axe which we buried m the 
snow; the tent-cloth was then laid along the ground and snow 
was piled over it. Under such conditions it is no easy task 
to creep in and out, but the principle itself is not at all un¬ 
practical, and one should be able to construct a tent in accord¬ 
ance with it which could withstand even Antarctic storms. 

“ And thus we have lam the whole of Sunday. It is like 
a prison, but at the same time worse than one, for it is not 
possible to move, and to lie thus uninterruptedly in the same 
sleeping-bag with another becomes almost a torture. One 
feels almost like a fever patient, lying there without occupa¬ 
tion, staring at the roof and making the spots in the cloth 
assume strange forms and, with these figures to start with, 
seeing long scenes from real life pass by one, and dreaming of 
the past and the future and, above all, of action. It is no 
grand airy castle that I build, for we are none of us here dis¬ 
posed to do so just now, but I dream of an ordered and 
thorough investigation of the unknown and most interesting 
region which is the field of our operations—such work it is 
almost our duty to carry out. Had we but had our work 




After the storm. 



ANTARCTICA 


232 

completed it would not be difficult to remain still, like Nansen 
m his stone hut ; but it is not easy to reconcile oneself to lying 
here uselessly and listen to the howling ol the storm, and to 
know nothing but that our provisions are coming to an end 
and that our poor dogs are becoming weaker from day to day, 
in consequence of cold and starvation.” 

October 2 yth .—“ After lying still for forty-eight hours we 
made a fresh start to-day at 4 p.m. ; the weather had before 
then cleared up so much that we caught glimpses of the Seal 
Islands We had gone much moie to the west than I 
imagined, and were obliged to make quite a sharp turn in 
order to reach Christensen Island. We marched for four 
hours, and should have gone on much further had we not been 
obliged to stop to repair our tent before the evening grew too 
cold A nasty, blue-grey, cold sky, with thick banks of clouds 
over the land.” 

October 29th —“ Two more days of storm ; four hours’ march 
m five days ! There is no danger, of course, for we have a 
good supply of provisions yet, ere we begin to think of killing 
and eating the dogs. Yesterday wc lay and occasionally 
carried on quite a lively conversation, glad at having repaired 
the tent before the storm came on, but to-day we are silent 
and listen to the misery outside—to the faint hissing of the 
driving snow, like that of snakes or of flames—to the howling 
of the wind and the slamming of the tent, which is unfortu¬ 
nately beginning to give in every possible direction. Tlic 
barometer is rising ; perhaps wc shall have fine weather to¬ 
morrow.” 

Happily this last guess turned out to be a true one, and 
during the remainder of the journey we were not obliged to 
lie still on account of the storms, although the south-west wind 
continued, and often blew so violently that it would have been 
impossible to make head against it. We had clear weather 
while passing between the Seal Nunataks, so that I was able 
to complete my map, but we did not reach Christensen Island 
before the 31st, when, after a long march through a heavy fog, 
we came down on to the sea-ice Unfortunately, this pre- 




The -wind was bitingly cold and it would have been impossible to match had it not been behind ns. 


234 


ANTARCTICA 


vented me from having any opportunity of studying the ice- 
edge, but we were now accustomed to this kind of bad fortune 
with storms and mists. We reached our old camping-place 
early m the afternoon, and stayed there over-night m order to 
repair the tent, diy our sleeping-bags as much as possible, and 
procure seal-meat both for ourselves and the dogs. 

The month of November began without bringing about any 
change m the weather we had had so long. Still, there was a 
little sunshine when I rose at 6 a m. From the ice we caught 
a last glimpse of King Oscar’s Land, of Christensen Island, 
the nunataks and the ice-wall, all in the most brilliant light. 
Had everything stood out as clearly when we went southwards 
we should have been spared much labour. There was a very 
striking difference between the sea-ice and that on which wc 
had lately travelled;, down here, too, there was much more 
loose snow. It had now become JonasseiTs turn to suffer from 
snow-blindness, and although we made a long inarch I cannot 
say that we had a pleasant day. The next day was not so 
very much better either. At the same time that there blew 
a sharp biting wmd, everything around us was enveloped in 
mist, and the greater part of the journey had to be made 
compass m hand. I had held last as long as possible to the 
hope of being able to turn off to the west at this point, and of 
once more setting foot upon the mainland, but this now became 
impossible. Although we could see nothing before us, we felt 
certain that we had come a great deal nearer the station when 
we encamped for the night. 

Our last interesting march on November 3rd is described in 
my diary in the following terms : 

“ When I awoke, the wmd and drifting snow still beat so 
heavily against the tent that I did not feel the least inclination 
to rise, but at 8 a.m. it seemed as though the sun began to 
shine, and when I cast a look outside immediately afterwards, 
I was pleasantly surprised to see before us, and apparently 
quite near at hand, Lockyer Island, and the land at the base 
of Mount Haddington. It is true that there was^stiUJmuch 
wmd and whirling snow ; all the peaks were hidden in clouds, 




The wild, dark'brown precipices of Lockyer Island. 




ANTARCTICA. 


236 

and Snow Hill was not to be seen ; but what did that 
matter ? It was clear that we must take advantage of the 
circumstances, and breakfast was soon disposed of. Had we 
imagined it was the last meal we should have on the ice we 
should probably have taken more time over it 

“ It was ten o’clock ere we could make a start. Instead of 
leather shoes, which, once wet through, seemed in that weather 
as if they had been made of thick steel-plate, and made every 
bending of the foot impossible, I put on my “ skallar ” for the 
last time, stuffing them with what remained of the dry grass.* 
It is true that one shoe was so ragged that it was soon filled 
with snow, but the other one was whole, and it would, in any 
case, have been impossible to make the march we did without 
them. 

“ The wind was much stronger than on the preceding days, 
and the weather would have been considered impossible had 
it not been for the sunshine, but off we went at full speed ; 
the sledges seemed to fly along of themselves ; we should 
never have had a better opportunity ol using a sail had it but 
been ready to be added to our present equipment. Sometimes 
the land was seen pretty clearly, sometimes it was wrapped 
in clouds, but I managed to keep a direct course for Depot 
Point, from whence we meant to fetch a part of the things 
we had left there, but which were now of no service in their 
present situation. In the course of the day Jonassen made 
the proposal that, the weather being as it was, we should not 
stop at the depot, but make direct lor home, and fetch the 
things on some favourable opportunity. It is true that he 
made out the way home to be shorter than it really was, but 
as I myself had not the least reason for being m a hurry with 
the moving of the depot, and as Sobral was also very much 
inclined to try to get home the same day, I thought it would 
be interesting to see how such a long march would turn out. 
It is most unpleasant, too, to be obliged to encamp in the 
midst of such weather as we then had, especially when one 
does not know how long one may be obliged to stay, so I gave 

* “ Saennagras ”—a Swedish grass used m boots to keep the feeL warm. 



37 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 

orders to march direct for home. “ I imagine we can be at 
the station by nine,” said Jonassen. “No, we can scarcely 
hope to be home before two 111 the morning at the earliest,” 
was my reply. 

Not before 7 p.m. did we pass the south point of Lockyer 
Island, a magnificently wild, dark-brown, precipitous cliff. 
From the heights a couple of almost perpendicular glaciers 
shoot forwards to the sea ; in front of each of them lay a long 
row of calf-ice frozen m. Here through the mist of driving 
snow we at last caught sight of the land round about the 
station—the basalt-top, the nunatak, and all the other well- 
known places—and the view acted, of course, most encoura¬ 
gingly. I do not know if the dogs were inspired by the same 
feelings as our own or by any others, but off they went at full 
speed, so that Jonassen sat on the sledge and went far ahead 
of us. But he soon stopped, and when we caught him up he 
had taken out a little chocolate, of which each of us put a cake 
into his pocket, for the weather was too bad for anyone to be 
inclined to stop and eat. 

We had drawn the sledge for more than ten hours, but we 
began to be seriously tired just when it became evident that, 
if we wished to reach home that day, we should be obhged to 
push on at our utmost speed. So we put our sledge on top 
of that drawn by the dogs and bound them firmly together. 
Sobral went on the one side to support the load, and J onassen 
went on the other with the traces ; I went 111 front and steered 
for the basalt peak, and’ off we started again—and this for the 
last time. I hurried ahead at a half-running gait and the 
wind pushed behind, so that one could scarcely stop, We 
rested for a moment about half-past nine, Lockyer Island 
then lying far behind us, but the wind and the driving snow 
had increased so much that Snow Hill was no longer visible. 

I should like to be an artist, m order to be able to describe 
the magnificent picture that surrounded us on that memorable 
night. Above us was the vault of a cloudless sky—first of a 
light, then growing of a darker blue—in which the stars were 
slowly kindled one after another—Jupiter and Sirius, with the 



ANTARCTICA. 


238 

Southern Cross in the zenith, and then, straight in front, the 
flaming belt of Orion. Far down 111 the west comes the newly- 
lighted crescent of the moon, and, where the sun has gone down, 
the heavens glow an intense dark, blood-red, against which the 
sharp contours of Lockyer Island, with the precipitous head¬ 
lands, the snowy dome and the glorious row of glaciers, are dis¬ 
tinctly lined. It grows darker and darker, more stars, and 
still more, come peeping out, and soon we see nothing before 
us but a far-reaching, fading shadow, which may be land, which 
may be sea. 

Suddenly we catch sight of a large, dark object, which must 
be Cockburn Island. Perhaps at this moment we turned off 
a little to the left, for after pursuing our march for a while 
we come right into the ice-wall. It was now midnight and 
pretty dark, but we often thought wc saw an opening in the 
barrier, and found as often that wc had made a mistake The 
dogs began to grow tired, and we were no less fatigued, but 
there was now no time for rest. At last we reached the ice- 
cape and with it the end of our difficulties. We could observe 
a growing light in the heavens, and the clouds began to be 
tinged with violet in the earliest dawn. The dogs could 
scarcely move, but now that wc had come on well-known 
ground, I tried to encourage them by beginning a half-run 
again. One last effort brought us across the great tongue of 
snow; the dogs rushed along at headlong speed, and at hall- 
past one at night we stopped before the last ice-block on the 
shore in front of the station. We took only a few of the most 
important things from the sledge up to the house. Poor Kurre 
was quite crippled and fell over into the snow when we took 
the traces off him. The house lay dark and silent, but on 
entering we were met on all sides with cries of welcome, which 
were first a little anxious in tone till our comrades learned that 
all was well. 

My. first thought was to wind up the chronometer, and the 
next to look at the pedometer, which showed 92,000.* Then 
I cast a glance at my companions, who were half black in the 

* A distance, for the day, of 38J miles 



239 


THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION, 1902. 

face, and more like Indians than anything else. Sobral had 
sunk down in a chair near the door, but suddenly said that he 
felt ill, and the next moment fell fainting to the floor. We 
rushed to his aid ; he was undressed and carried to bed, where 
he soon recovered. At the same time I noticed that every¬ 
thing seemed to go round, and I hurried out into the fresh air, 
where, with an effort, I succeeded in overcoming the attack, 
so that I could soon go m and take a seat at the table. 
Jonassen said afterwards that he, too, had experienced a 
strange feehng when he first breathed the indoors air, to which 
we had so long been strangers. We drank a cup of coffee and 
took a little hard rye-bread, with butter and mutton, together 
with an incredible amount of water. We enj oyed it, but were 
too tired to do so much. We spoke of the most important 
events that had happened during the time we had been sepa¬ 
rated, but I found that it was useless to ask for any news of 
the Antarctic 

Nothing showed more plainly the exertions we had under¬ 
gone during the expedition than our loss in weight. Before 
breakfast the next morning, when I probably already weighed 
a little more than on our arrival the evening before, it was 
found that I was 7 kilogrammes (15% lbs.) lighter than at the 
beginning of the journey. I regained 4 kilogrammes (8J- lbs.) 
during the day, and in the course of the following day, 
kilogrammes more (3^ lbs.), after which my weight remained 
pretty constant. The case was quite the same with the other 
two members of the expedition. 

The length of the route traversed during the journey 
amounted to over 650 kilometres (400 miles). It is true that, 
m consequence of the exceptionally severe weather, and of 
the impossibility of completing our supplies of provisions up 
on the ice-terrace, we had not been able to stay away as long, 
nor to extend our journey as far as I had wished, but still I 
considered that we had every reason to be satisfied with the 
results obtained. We had discovered an extensive stretch of 
coast and thereby proved the connection between Louis 
Philippe Land and the tracts seen by Larsen, the charts 



240 


ANTARCTICA 


of these regions becoming completely changed in consequence 
of our expedition. We had made meteorological and bio¬ 
logical observations, and had, above all, made collections, 
which were of great value for a knowledge of the geology of 
the tracts in question, whilst our proving the existence of the 
great ice-terrace could be considered as in itself worth a great 
part of the labour expended on the journey. 




CHAPTER XV. 

THE SUMMER : ITS WORK AND RESULTS. 

We begin to expect relief — Some features of om summer-life—A sledge-jouiney to 
Seymour Island—Fossil penguins ; plant fossils; general geological featmes 
, of the islands —Antarctic sunnnei weathei—Christmas, 190a 

None of us could sleep well in a proper bed the first night. 
My feet were tender and swollen, my lips swollen and cracked, 
and directly after our home-coming I had a difficulty m read¬ 
ing, as the letters danced before my eyes. Sobral had a 
severe attack of bad eyes which lasted several days. Our 
beards had whitened, and the dog Kurre had quite changed 
colour, being now a pale yellowish grey instead of a bright 
yellow. 

Little of importance had happened at the station during 
our absence. Five of the seven Greenland whelps had died, 
but the other two had grown into very promising young¬ 
sters, and were of great use to us during the following 
year. The weather had become much better during our 
absence, but it was still cold and windy. 

What at first made the great difference between the early 
part of our residence here and the period which now began 
was, partly, the so-called summer and the conditions which 
arose m consequence of the new season, and also our 
waiting for the Antarctic. When the summer closed we 
commenced our second and forced wintering. It will be 
seen from the following entry in my diary that we .had 
begun at an early period to expect relief, 

16 



242 


ANTARCTICA. 


“ November 'jth —Bodman and Elcelof have been up on the 
plateau and say that a narrow lead can be seen to the south¬ 
east, but that the ice to the north lies quite compact. Who 
can tell, under the circumstances, when the boat will be able 
to come ? Either we are experiencing a very bad year, or 
our predecessors have had uncommonly good fortune. We 
are now having a consultation as to when we may expect 
to reopen our communications with the outside world 
Bodman keeps to the 20th November, but some of the 
others say the 20th December or the 20th January. 

“ On the 5th, Bodman and Ekelof each shot then* Mcga- 
lestris (Skua, or Port Egmont hen) ; the birds were feasting 
on one of the dead dogs. I had at first an objection to eating 
these carrion-birds, but they tasted excellent when served 
with apple sauce ; there was not the least trace of train-oil 
about them, but they reminded me most of an old and pretty 
tough capercailzie. 

“It is remarkable what bird-life we have around us now. 
It is mostly terns, the black-backed gull (Lams domtn.), and a 
few skuas and cormorants that are seen, but the penguins I 
have not observed as yet . . .” 

On the 21st November Bodman, Ekelof and Jonasscn made 
a sledge-journey to Cockburn and Seymour Islands, in order 
to look to the cairn and signal-post, to hunt and to collect 
eggs. I accompanied them to the southern corner of Seymour 
Island, where I spent the rest of the day in geological work. 
They did not come back before the 25th. They had followed 
the west coast of Seymour Island to the most northern head¬ 
land visible from the station, and there turned off into a large 
bay, where they discovered a deep valley which ran right 
through the island. From thence they had gone to the cairn, 
which was found in good order, and had taken a part of the 
provision-supply from the depdt, potatoes amongst the rest, of 
which article of food we began to run short; but on going to 
draw off some petroleum from one of the two cisterns there, 
it was found that both of them contained linseed oil! The 
party then went over to Cockburn Island, which was close by, 



THE SUMMER. ITS WORK AND RESULTS 243 

and pitched its tent almost in the same place where Ross 
had landed nearly 60 years earlier. The penguin colony here 
is much smaller than that on Seymotn Island, but bird-life is, 
in its entirety, richer and more various on Cockburn Island, 
which is especially a great breeding-place for cormorants 
These birds build much finer nests than the penguins, resem¬ 
bling high cones m form, the insides being lined with red sea¬ 
weed and looking quite pretty when they are newly finished. 

A beautiful collection of fossils, including some uncommonly 



Photo hi /] [E, EKELOE 

The Skua (Megalestris), our chief game-bird. 


well-preserved ammonites, was brought from Seymour Island, 
while from Cockburn Island were brought specimens of rock, 
all, however, consisting of yolcanic tuff. As this last circum¬ 
stance seemed to agree with the account given by Ross, I 
became convinced that it was of no very great use to make 
further geological investigations on this island, and the con¬ 
sequence was that it was reserved for some one else to make 
the valuable geological discoveries which were made, most 
fortunately, ere we left these regions. 

The sledge-party also brought home some cormorant-meat, 

16* 



244 


ANTARCTICA. 


which tasted excellently, and penguin eggs, which we at once 
tried The white becomes semi-transparent and a little 
bluish on boiling ; the yellow has a somewhat reddish tinge, 
but the taste does not differ much from that of a hen’s egg, 
and the find was of great value to us as providing a change 
in our diet. But the supply brought was not large, and I 
immediately resolved to undertake a new sledge-expedition 
to Seymour Island, partly for the sake of collecting eggs and 
partly for continuing my geological studies in the northern 
part of the island. The last days of November were cold and 
unpleasant, but we were obliged to hurry in order not to come 
too late for the egg season, and so I started on the 2nd 
December, accompanied by Jonassen and Akerlund, and 
reached the depot without any great difficulty. Farther out 
on the ice we could see large crowds of seals, amounting to 
several hundreds in number. 

I at once made for the newly-discovered cross-valley, and 
in a grey shale amongst the shore rocks near its southern 
entrance I caught sight, for the first time, of something which 
made me surmise that petrified wood was not the only vege¬ 
table fossil of Antarctic regions. I went along the slope of 
the valley right across the island, studying and collecting from 
each knoll, but although I everywhere found traces of vege¬ 
table petrifications I could not succeed in finding one which 
allowed of any determination. I returned to the camp late 
m the evening, and enjoyed a good supper of fresh penguin 
meat. 

Some of the penguins which had for the second time been 
deprived of their eggs had gone out to sea, but otherwise 
they did not seem to make much-to-do about the thefts. A 
few lay quietly in the empty nests as if nothing had happened, 
whilst others were said to have carried rotten or cracked eggs 
to their rifled homes and sat upon them. 

The next morning, December 3rd, I went out early along 
the shore, past the cross-valley and towards the north head¬ 
land of the island, which here forms a high, level, extensive 
plateau. I did not ascend the plateau on this occasion, but 






B*eed]iig~place of coitwoianls on Cockbmn Island 





246 ANTARCTICA 

stayed on a little terrace some distance below the top, which 
was traversed by valleys and had small irregular knolls of 
hard rock. In this place I made a most interesting discovery 
consisting of the loose, scattered fossil bones of a vertebrate, 
but I could not investigate the matter more closely on the 
spot. 

A more important discovery of its kind could scarcely be 
made by such an expedition as oms. One of the greatest 
pioblems that exists m the investigation of the geography of 
ancient epochs is that which concerns the rdle played by the 
South Polar regions during that important period when higher 
animals and plants of modern types began to appear upon the 
earth, i.o., during the latter part of the Cretaceous, and the 
first part of the Tertiary systems. The distribution ot land- 
organisms on the southern half of the globe presents many 
peculiarities, especially in the circumstance that nearly- 
related forms occur in South America, Africa and Australia, 
while these continents are not now in any way connected by 
land. These phenomena could best be explained could we 
suppose the existence of a great mass ol land mound the 
South Pole, formerly continuous with these three divisions of 
the globe, and across which animals and plants could migrate 
from the one side of the earth to the other. But no proof of 
the correctness of such an hypothesis had been discovered 
before the advent of our expedition to Antarctic regions, 

The discovery just mentioned has not, however, been able 
to fully decide the correctness of the theory. Apart from some 
large, and as yet undetermined, bones, nearly all of those that 
I found belong to a species of penguin considerably larger than 
the largest now living-—the emperor penguin. It is true that 
this discovery is in itself of exceeding interest, as it demon¬ 
strates that even at such a distant epoch—probably the 
beginning of the Tertiary period—the penguin was an inhabi¬ 
tant of the Antarctic regions ; but for the solving of the 
general problem, it is clear that it would be of still greater 
importance to discover here the remains of land vertebrates. 

But I was to make another discovery on this memorable 




View of the cross valley in which the plant fossils weie found Cockliutn Island in the background. 










2 4 3 ANTARCTICA 

day, which strongly supports the hypothesis mentioned 
above. When I came back to the cross-valley I stopped there 
to continue my search among its rocks for plant fossils. I 
looked a long time without finding anything but fragments, 
until my eyes fell upon a brown, coaise, hard, tuff-like rock, 
and in this I at last found what I had sought for so long . 
numerous, large and quite distinct leaves—although, as a 
rule, by no means well preserved or easily determinable— 
belonging to a variety of different forms of exogenous trees, 
firs and ferns. It is difficult to express the ]oy I felt at this 
moment Could it have been a dream which led me to choose 
just these tracts for my field of labour ? For if there was one 
hope whose fulfilment or non-fulfilment was, in my thoughts, 
almost synonymous with the success or failure of the expedi¬ 
tion, it was just that of being able to discover in these regions 
determinable Tertiary vegetable fossils. 

Professor Nathorst, to whom the matenal brought homo 
was submitted for a preliminary examination, has placed at 
my disposal the figures repioduced here, and has written a 
shoit paper on the discovery. After giving an account of the 
well-known discovery made by Larsen, and after pointing 
out that the conditions of the examples is such that then 
determination necessitates a most laborious examination, lie 
writes as follows : 

“ The fir-trees, as well as the exogenous trees and the ferns, 
have come to hand Amongst the specimens of firs I should 
like to call special attention to a branch (Fig. 3) with sym¬ 
metrically placed leaves, reminding one of the Sequoias, 
although a nearer examination of the specimen shows that 
it probably belongs to another family. Of special interest is 
a large leaf which, though badly preserved, can safely be said 
to belong to an Araucaria of the same type as the South 
American, A. brasiliensis. The leaves of the exogenous trees 
are relatively small and narrow ; their habitus calls to mind 
similar fossils from the Tertiary formations of central and 
southern Europe, but also certain South American types of 
leaves (Figs, x and 2). I should specially mention that I 






ANTARCTICA 


250 

have found seveial fragments of leaves oi the beech, Fagus, 
which prove that such tiees existed in that part of the world 
even during the Eocene period. The ferns belong to many 
different types, but aie very fragmentary, and consequently 
their determination will be difficult.” 

The finds of beech and Araucaria are specially interesting, 
as these fossils occur m the collections belonging to the older 
Tertiary period which I had previously made in the district 
around the Straits of Magellan. Thus it seems as if these 
families, like the penguins, were real Antarctic types. It 
remains to be seen in what degree our collections otherwise 
support the migration theory before mentioned, but the 
possibility of such a migration must now be unconditionally 
acknowledged. 

In this connection some words ought to be said respecting 
the geological conditions here m other lespccls. 

Before our expedition, no other fossils from Antarctic 
regions were known than the petrified tree-trunks and some 
shells taken home by Larsen from the north pait of Seymour 
Island. These alone were not sufficient, however, to deter¬ 
mine the geological age of the islands, but the deposits were 
taken as belonging to the older Tcrtiaiy period. It was, 
therefoic, a surprise on our first landing at Snow Hill to find 
there numerous ammonites, a form of life which was already 
extinct at the period named, and the presence of which showed 
that at least two formations were represented in these regions. 
Our investigations have proved that these islands are built 
up of a connected series of deposits, which become more recent 
the more one comes to the north. The oldest strata, which 
are found in the district immediately surrounding the station, 
belong to the middle or upper cretaceous system, and contain 
numerous ammonites and mollusca, as well as sea-urchins and 
crustaceans. On Snow Hill Island the fossils are, in general, 
not very well preserved; the opposite is usually the case on 
Seymour Island, where, moreover, the store of fossils is greater. 
Ammonites are found on the last-named island too, but 
belonging to other types, and it seems most probable that the 




Photo by) [TCNQW. 

Fossils fiom Cietaceous system ; found on Seymour and Snow Hill Islands, 




2$2 


ANTARCTICA. 


deposits there belong to the youngest chalk formation. Am¬ 
monites are wanting, however, in the northern part of the 
island, their place being taken by numerous new forms of 
mollusca, brachiopods, encrinus liliiformis, etc , and it was 
m these deposits, too, that the fossil bones and leaves found 
were discovered. 

The collections of fossils we have brought home will be the 
thread which will gradually lead to discoveries enabling us to 
form a picture of the chief features of the nature oi the 
Antaictic regions, from the Jurassic period down to our own 
times. And it must be remembered that it is a continent 
which has thus been opened to scientific investigation, and 
a continent which, during the period of the earth’s develop¬ 
ment just named, was not an icy waste, but a land with 
luxuriant vegetation and extensive coasts, where, maybe, 
many types of animals and plants were first developed that 
afterwards found their way as far as to northern lands. 

It had been my intention to return to the station the same 
night, but now I was doubtful for a moment if I ought not 
rather to stay here some time. But I had not brought with 
me any outfit for the collection of such sensitive forms ; the 
A ntarctic would probably be here in a few days with new re¬ 
sources, and even should this not be the case, I .hoped to ho 
easily able to arrange another journey to the spot, and under 
more favourable circumstances; so wc packed our things on 
the sledge and started for home. 

Whilst the prevalent weather had hitherto been cold and 
unpleasant, it now began to be more summer-like—if one can 
speak of summer in these regions, and during this year m 
particular. This latter reservation is of need, for the present 
year has been unusually badly favoured in this respect. With 
the exception of their cold summers the South Polar tracts 
can be compared with corresponding regions in the north, but 
in the respect named they differ most essentially. Every 
description of South Polar nature gives an incomplete picture 
of the reality unless this peculiarity be well pointed out. It 
is true that we had fine sunny days, when we could sit outside 



THE SUMMER • ITS WORK AND RESULTS 253 

and warm ourselves in the sun, and when the suiface soil 
showed 30° C. (86° F.) of warmth; but, as a rule, the ther¬ 
mometer stood at some degrees below o° C. (32° F.), and mist 
and snow belonged to the order of the day—the same kind of 
weather as we have in Sweden during the winter. 

The following table shows our mean temperature during the 
three summer months, as compared with the two coldest 
summers which have hitherto been the subject of meteoro¬ 
logical observations, viz., that experienced by Nansen’s Ex¬ 
pedition at the most northerly point reached, and that by 
the Bdgica. Comparison is also made with Godthaab, in 
Greenland, and m a degree of latitude corresponding to that 
of Snow Hill, and with Lund, m southern Sweden. 

Snow Hill Felgua. “Flaw,’* 

64° 22'. c 1 a 71°. c a. S4 0 . 

S. la/. S. laf. jV. lot. 

December, —2 0° (zS.4 0 F ) —2.2 0 (28.04“ F ) —22° (28.04° F.) 

January, ~o 9° (30.4" F ) —1.2° (29 84° F.) —0.3° (31.46° F.) 

February, — 3 5 ° ( 2 5 7 ° F ) — 1 o° (30. 2°?.) -2.5° (27. 5° F ) 

Godthaab. * Lund 1 

64°. 55 ° 42' 

FT, lat N. la! 

December, +4.0° (39.2° F ) -|-0.2 o (32 36° F ) 

January, +6.0° (42.8° F ) —o 8° (30 J6° F.) 

February, +5.9° (42.6° F.) —1.0° (30. 2° F.) 

These figures show that this was the coldest summer ever 
experienced + , although the Belgica and the Fram Expeditions 
spent a corresponding season in the pack-ice, the one 7, and 
the other 20, degrees of latitude nearer to the Pole. They 
also prove that there is a tremendous difference between an 
Arctic and an Antarctic summer climate, and that our summer 
was colder than winters m southern Sweden. But the tempera¬ 
ture alone does not give one a true idea of the conditions in 

* June, July, and August, 
t Winter months 

J The English South Polar Expedition had, however, simultaneously with us, still 
colder weather 13° further South, at Victoria Land. 



354 


ANTARCTICA 


South Polar legions, and the following example will serve to 
illustrate some other points of view. I had arranged a row 
of bamboo rods on the glacier, in order to measure the changes 
m the height of the icc caused by thawing and snow-falls. 
During the winter this height was found to be constant, and 
not the slightest part of the snow which then tell remained on 
the glacier. But during the summer, on the other hand, the 
height of the snowy covering increased by 25 centimetres 
(9.75 inches), and this amount still remained when wc left 
these tracts one year later. 

Thus the leader must imagine a climate where winter is 
as severe as in western Siberia, and so stormy that every 
particle of snow blows away ; where the summer, even in the 
low latitudes where we were, is as cold as near the North Pole, 
and is, moreover, such, that snow-drifts and glaciers increase 
during the warmest season of the year. It will then first be 
possible for him to understand how it is possible for an expedi¬ 
tion lying two degrees north of the South Polar Circle to be 
forced to winter there, when the ice-conditions do not permit 
of a vessel’s penetrating the mass. 

* * * * * * * 

I made several other sledge-] ourneys ol greater or lesser 
length, and soon began to think of making a new expedition 
to Seymour Island, in order to continue the studies I had com¬ 
menced there, and one day in December, Bodman and I 
made up our minds to go across to the southern part of the 
island in question. We went over the plateau to the channel, 
where we beheld an unexpected sight, for in the place of the 
unbroken ice along the shore there were several stretches of 
open water It is true that there were ice-bridges which 
seemed to extend to the opposite shore, but after I had put 
one foot through the ice, we thought it wisest not to con¬ 
tinue our wanderings. Of course, we had still one way 
there across the ice in Admiralty Sound, but from that date 
all possibilities of making sledge-j ourneys to the depot and 
the fossils on the east coast were irrecoverably lost. 



THE SUMMER: ITS WORK AND RESULTS. 255 

The days sped on rapidly towards Christmas, the great feast 
of the year. Christmas Eve was a fine sunshiny day, but it 
was not before late in the afternoon that arrangements were 
made calculated to call forth feelings peculiar to the festival. 
The table was decorated with flags, and a bouquet was formed 



Photo 5 1 /} 


[NOJID fcNSKJ OLD, 

Our festive Christmas table 


of the best materials the station afforded—chosen stalks of 
shoe-hay, and the withered remains of a Christmas nosegay 
I had received a year before. Supper consisted, according 
to the good old Swedish custom, of stock-fish, porridge and 
mince-pies. When the phonograph was taken out and played 
the old Yule hymn, “ All hail, thou Morning Star so fair ! ” 



ANTARCTICA. 


256 

I fancy everyone dreamed himself fat away across the 
sea, though none expressed his thoughts in words. 

Outside in the early Christmas morning the fresh cold breeze 
reminded us of winter, and the thermometer showed 9 degrees 
below freezing point (15.8° F.). 



CHAPTER XVI. 


VAIN EXPECTATIONS. 

Our feelings duiing the peuod of waiting—-New Year, 1903—Jnnuaiy storms and 
their effects —Preparations foi a new winlenng—Collecting seal-filit liber for 
fuel—Boat-joiiiney to Seymour Island—Slaughtering penguins —Ihctuies from 
penguin-life—The decisive da) 

The time between Christinas and New Year passed in the same 
monotonous way as the preceding days, several of us going 
up to the plateau every fine day in order to look for the 
vessel. 

It need scarcely be said that all this fruitless expectation 
reacted strongly on our work. It is true that the observations 
were taken with the usual regularity—were increased in 
number, I may even say—but none of us felt any desire to 
begin work of any great continuity. Least of all was there 
talk of our making expeditions which should last for any 
length of time. It may willingly he acknowledged that 
much work could have been done during December, and pro- 

17 



ANTARCTICA 


25S 

bably would have been done, had we not had reason to expect 
the arrival of the vessel late in the summer. 

Our humour, too, suffered in consequence of this waiting ; 
there fell a nervousness upon all ot us, although, it is true, this 
took no other form than an unnecessary waimth in discussions 
even on the most ordinary subjects But there was none of 
us who even dreamed of the possibility of our having to 
remain here for another winter. 

The New Year, 1903, came with a pretty fresh wind irom 
the north that gave fresh life to our hopes, which were still 
more encouraged when, on January 5th, the wind veered round 
to the south-west and increased to a slight storm The 
howling gusts, the rattling of the empty petroleum cans and 
preserved-food tins as they rolled away ; the drifting snow, 
the darkening air—everything recalled periods to which we 
weie formerly so accustomed, but now each stormy sign was 
greeted with feelings of joy. We did not have fine weather 
again until the 7th, and then, ot course, every man of us made 
a pilgrimage to the top of the basalt hill. North of Cockburn 
Island could be seen some open water, which continued past 
the northern point of Seymour Island, but there merely as a 
narrow band. There were also a number of small leads to the 
east of the island, while to the south-south-east the sea was 
nearly clear of ice as far as I could see through the misty air. 
The outlook could have been better, but we were glad as long 
as we could mark that progress had been made in tire dis¬ 
persion ot the ice 

After the 9th January the wind once more began to blow 
strongly from the south or south-south-east, and, during the 
first few days, with blinding, whirling snow, which almost 
entirely shut out the view. But we were contented with every 
wind that blew, and hoped for the best, so that I naturally 
felt it as a hard blow when Jonassen, who, as usual, had been 
the first to go up on the lull, came home and told us that the 
ice lay everywhere closely packed on the east side. There 
was nothing to be done but to arm ourselves with patience 
and trust to the future. It was fortunate that none of us 






260 


ANTARCTICA 


could then think that this storm had given the death-blow 
to all possibilities of relief, and that the crushing ice-masses 
had changed our dear old Antarctic to a drilling wreck. 

The summer was now pretty lar advanced, and the weather 
of late had been such as to preclude all thought of extensive 
work out-of-doors, but our last disappointment made us 
seriously consider the question how we could best make pre¬ 
parations for another, and a foiced, wintering here, for there 
was now no time for delay but merely for action My inten¬ 
tion had been to go over to Seymour Island, but the result of 
a discussion with Bodman and Ekelof was, that I stayed at 
home for some days longer in order to prepare a tlioiough 
change in oui method of living and our work. I compiled a 
new and preliminary scheme for our dietary, after having 
made an inventory of our chief articles of piovision and made 
some statistical investigations. But it was clearly the ques¬ 
tion of fuel which was of the most importance for us. We 
thought we could be sure of obtaining a sufficient supply of 
penguin- and seal-meat, but our remaining supply of coals 
was far from sufficient for a new winter, and we had had no 
experience of the use of seal-blubber. We determined, there¬ 
fore, to begin at once and kill all the seals we could and keep 
their skins, while, in order to spare our fuel, we left off making 
up fires m the kitchen-range m the evening and contented 
ourselves with a cup of tea made with the help of the Primus 
petroleum-stove. 

Alter I had made a short visit to Seymour Island in order 
to look at the penguin colony, and to bring home some fossils, 
we began to devote ourselves in earnest to seal-catching, in 
winch we all took part, while Jonassen had also to drive the 
skins home. The species of seal most common at the station 
was the Weddell,, already mentioned. Compared with the 
species frequenting northern waters this one is rather large, 
and can be more than 3.5 metres (ii£ feet) in length, but at 
this season of the year they were not, unfortunately, so very 
fat. Happily they were not scarce, however, for on the 19th 
and 20th we killed 7 altogether. If to these we add the 



VAIN EXPECTATIONS 


261 

Megalestvis and penguins killed on the same days it can be 
understood that the animal life at this time was fairly rich. 
It was seldom that we saved the seal-meat now, as the trans¬ 
port was so difficult, and as we also thought that the birds 
tasted better 

The days which followed were the warmest we had during 
this summer, though neither the maximum nor the mean 
temperatures were as high as what we had had during the 
course of the winter. On the night before the 24th we had a 



Photo by] [E EKBIor. 

Bodman carrying out magnetic observations. 


really strong north wind for the first time for many days. 
Jonassen, who had gone up on the hill to look at the ice, came 
back with one of his usual, superlatively sanguine descriptions 
of the state of things. The best proof of the anxiety with 
which we hoped for a change in the ice-conditions was our 
readiness to believe in these accounts, although they had 
already often deceived us. But this time the ice had really 
opened a little, “It is perhaps a little better now than it 
was last September,” is the remark in my diary, but there 
was really no great change. The narrow lead along the land 



262 


ANTARCTICA 


had opened again, however, so that it seemed almost possible 
to get to Seymour Island by rowing, and we determined to 
carry out our intention of bearing our boat down to the open 
water as soon as possible. 

At the station we had now so much open water along the 
shore that one could row past the basalt hill, so we started 
on the 29th, the boat being transported by five men and five 
dogs. The going was comparatively easy, the boat was light 
and the dogs willing. We spoke about old-time expeditions, 
and how they had been obliged to pull heavy boats across the 
ice in this way, and I could not but think with admiration of 
the toilsome work carried out by our predecessors, little dream¬ 
ing of the painful wandering across the ice with heavy boats 
which others were to undertake m our neighbourhood a few 
weeks later. 

We had now to make the long-planned journey to Seymour 
Island for the purpose of completing our supply of provisions. 
Had we understood how good seal-meat was, we should have 
taken more care of the flesh of the eighteen seals we had now 
killed; but, as it was, it was chiefly upon the penguins that 
we relied for our food supply. The ice had soon packed 
again, preventing all possibility of using the boat, but on the 
4th and 5th February we had a breeze from the north-east 
which once more drove the ice from the land. Having carried 
most of our pack over to the eastern shore of the station during 
the preceding days, we were able to make a start on the 6th. 
Ekelof and Jonassen accompanied me on this important 
journey, which I will describe with the aid of my diary. 

Two of us 111 turn rowed the boat, while the third steered. 
The weather was dull and foggy, and it was no easy task to 
make our way between the fragments of ice, but we kept as 
much as we could along the fast ice which lay along the coast, 
for there was usually a channel there sufficiently broad for 
our needs. On the way we saw some seals, and a flock of 
thousands of cormorants flew close over our heads on their 
way northwards to a more open sea. A few penguins, too, 
met us a long way out, some standing on the ice and others 




rf EkeloFs Rocks ja ; jagged, precipitous sandstone rocks in the north eastern part of Snow Hitt Island 



ANTARCTICA 


264 

swimming around us m their peculiar “ flying-fish ” manner. 
They passed us easily; it was as though they were hurrying 
home to make preparations for our visit Poor things ! 
They little knew our evil intentions. 

After pitching our tent on the shore of Seymoui Island, 
and snatching a hasty meal, we went at once to survey the 
penguin colony It was surprising to see how big the young 
ones were already, only a lew having their downy dresses 
still on, so that most of them looked quite neat m their new, 
shining suit of feathers. They reminded me not a little of 
gnls coming from a ball with white dresses and fur cloaks 

But we had not much time to spend m looking at them, 
and there was no reason for delaying our work, so wc armed 
ourselves with seal-hacks and commenced to attack the poor 
animals It would be difficult to imagine a more disgusting 
task. At first they usually made an attempt to escape , it 
was only the largest and boldest, and those who stood near 
their young, or were posted as sentinels around the camp, who 
tried to defend themselves, but when they saw it was im¬ 
possible to escape they made a desperate stand ; a blow on the 
head could strike them to the earth, but it was nearly always 
necessary to chop the head to pieces ere the bird died. 

It was only bitter need which could compel us to this 
horrible slaughter ; nothing else could have prevailed upon me 
to take part in it. It may seem difficult in other countries 
to be obliged to kill animals in numbers, but it becomes still 
more repulsive here, where the creatures have not yet learned 
to fear man When the disturber of their peace approaches, 
they look at him with mild, astonished eyes ; or, maybe, make 
a bold attack without paying the least regard to their immense 
inferiority in strength. But it seems most dreadful of all to 
kill these penguins, these peculiar birds, which one over and 
over again has compared with human beings, and which, m 
these deserted tracts, come to be considered almost as good 
comrades and friends Much as I had longed for the Antarctic 
during the course of this summer, I never did so more than 
during these few days, and when it blew a hard wind from the 



VAIN EXPECTATIONS 


265 

north-west duimg the following night, I almost took it as a 
sign that my wish would be granted, and that the vessel 
would come for the penguins’ sake, before we had slain all 
those we needed for our winter supply. 

The wind fell towards morning and Ekelof and myself 
naturally took advantage of the occasion to make a trip to 
the top of the high northern plateau, m order to see how 
the ice lay, and after a long walk we managed to obtain 
a good view of it. The ice lay close, it could not be denied, 
but it was broken right on to Jomville Island and as far 
as we could see. Even as matters stood I could not repress 
the thought that a vessel like the Antarctic ought to be able to 
force her way through In any case, it would not need much 
to scatter the ice a great deal more. 

And the little that was wanted came very soon. During 
the following night a new storm raged, from the west-south¬ 
west this time ; and not only did it blow more heavily than 
the night before, but it was actually the most violent storm 
we had had since the winter. We were obliged to remain in 
our tent the whole of Sunday, and it was not before the evening 
that I could go out and make my way to the top of a high 
peak far inland But here at last I caught sight ol great 
stretches of open water. The entire southern part of Erebus 
and Terror Gulf was ice-free, almost the whole way to Cock- 
burn Island ; it was only on the horizon that lines of ice could 
be seen, but there it was visible in all directions. The joy 
was great in the tent when I came home with the news, and 
we should have celebrated the day had -we been able. We 
determined to go on with our penguin-killing, it is true, but 
to content ourselves with the least possible number, which was 
put at 400. 

I do not intend to give any detailed description of the days 
which followed and the varying moods they witnessed. The 
weather was cold and stormy ; it could be marked that winter 
was approaching, for the ice began to drive in again, and we 
were, moreover, visited by an impenetrable mist winch entirely 
shut out the view. Now and then there came fresh storms 



266 


ANTARCTICA 


which earned the ice away again, turning it once more into a 
scattered, drifting mass, but we never had fine weather simul¬ 
taneously with good ice-conditions for such a long time 
together that the absence of the Antarctic made us feel un¬ 
easy I shall never forget the days we spent imprisoned m 
our tent, or m slaughtering penguins, or m going as often as 
opportunity offered to some detached peak, in order to look 
for the Antarctic —for the vessel which, ere we left this place, 
was to disappear m a watery grave only a few miles from 
where we were. Neither can I forget my evening walks 
along the shore with the full moon starting out from behind 
the storm-clouds, and with the penguins standing at attention 
in long rows, and seemingly always ready for a conversation 
would one but deign to speak to them. 

Tins penguin colony, which became of such inestimable 
value to us, was not a very large one ; I calculated the number 
of young ones at about 2,500, and I suppose that in a bad year 
like this one could hardly count more than one such in every 
nest, and that would make the number of old birds to be 
about 5,000. The young ones were now being left to them¬ 
selves by the old birds, and a great number of the latter were 
beginning to moult. Ekelof was able to ascertain that these 
latter birds were in much better condition than the other old 
ones, which were nearly all in want of blubber. 

The young ones, however, can scarcely provide themselves 
with food, and I imagine that both the fathers and mothers 
share in this work. If the reader wishes to have an idea of 
how the old penguins spend their day, the facts are somewhat 
as follows. Early in the morning they swim out to sea, where 
they dive and swim about, often m flocks and, pretty easily, 
as I tlnnk, supply themselves with what food they need, which 
chiefly consists of small Crustacea, Euphausia. They return 
with the flood tide, either in small groups or singly. They 
come swimming under the water; there is a little splashing 
amidst the breaking waves, and up they come on to the shore, 
stretching themselves and shaking both body and wings and 
making a sniffling noise. They are in no hurry to reach the 




Photo hi/} P BEEI«y 

The young penguin receiving the*food collected by the mother during the day. 




268 


ANTARCTICA 


nests where their young are awaiting them, arranged in long 
rows The youngsters often rush forward to meet the old 
birds as these latter climb the steep rocks Whether it be of 
ill-will, or merely m order to entice their young to some more 
secluded spot, or for any other reason, I do not know, but 
the old ones then often retreat at full speed down the slope, 
pursued by one or two squealing young ones running as last 
as their little legs can carry them Sometimes I have seen 
the old birds fly in earnest and the young ones return dis¬ 
appointed, but as a rule the former allow themselves to be 
overtaken, and then follows, amidst incessant cackling, an 
interesting and even touching scene The mother, or lather 
as I have said, bends down her head and brings up in masses 
the shrimps she has collected; the young one stands with its 
bill stuck inside the mother’s and greedily devours its meal, 
but it is not so entirely taken up with its feast but that it 
marks and flies from anyone who may approach. The feeding 
takes a long tune, after which the young ones usually return 
to the camp, or breeding-place, and the old ones go down to 
the shore. Should there be two young ones to be led by the 
same old bird, they endeavour to push each other aside, but 
I never saw any actual fighting between them. 

On the 12th February we killed the last of the penguins we 
meant to carry home ; but on both of the following days the 
wind was so strong that we could not think of returning. On 
the evening of the 14th, the anniversary of our landing at the 
station, I was able to communicate the joyful tidings that the 
ice-conditions looked better than ever. We started the next 
morning, but it was hard work rowing, the boat being loaded 
with all that mass of meat, and the fog being so thick besides, 
that it was only occasionally we caught sight of land; while 
we had often to row through long stretches of sludge-ice, 
where it seemed as if the boat made no progress in spite of all 
our labour. At the entrance to Admiralty Sound the lce- 
conditions had not been essentially altered by the storm, 
and there we were at last able to enter a little ice fiord along 
the edge of the great shore-drift Here we left the birds to 




View fioni wintering station die basalt bill is visible, but a mist lies mei the plueaii 





2 JO 


ANTARCTICA 


be fetched afterwards, and then wc rowed round the cape and 
pulled the boat up into the valley at the north-west corner of 
the island, where it probably remains to this very day. 

We weie home at the station by 3, and it was a pleasure 
to wash off all the blood and dirt with which we were covered. 
I undertook the magnetic observations at 5 the next morning, 
the 16th, in order to relieve Bodman, who, as he had confided 
to me, had such sanguine hopes that the boat would come on 
the morrow that he would like to get his fill ol sleep before¬ 
hand. Luckily we had fine weather that day, so that I 
could go with Jonassen to fetch the first sledge-load of birds , 
m the evening he went out alone to bring home the remainder 
of the meat. The same evening a new storm came on, first 
from the south-south-west, and then more west-south-west. 
The same wind had shown itself able to drive away the ice on 
the preceding day and so we were filled with the liveliest 
expectations. It was with forebodings of evil I learned on 
the 18th that the temperature had lallcn to nearly ~xo° C. 
(14 0 F.) ; but it was not before late m the evening, when on 
my midnight watch, that I suddenly became aware of the 
fact that the summer was at an end. The storm, driving 
before it dense masses of snow, blew so hard that I could 
scarcely make head against it. It was a pitch-dark night, 
and so cold that I nearly had the fingers of one hand 
frostbitten by going out without mittens to read off the 
terrestrial thermometer. 

The wind continued the next day, although a little 
decreased m velocity, but towards evening I felt myself 
obliged to go and see what our fate was to be, so I put on my 
wind clothes and climbed the basalt top And my curiosity 
was satisfied, for I saw before me an ice-covered sea, such as 
had not been visible the whole summer ; there was ice in every 
direction, north, east and south, and it lay closely packed 
against the land. 

And now for the first time the feeling came over me in 
earnest that we were to be imprisoned here for another year. 
A fortunate accident, a miracle, could still release us, but 



VAIN EXPECTATIONS 


271 


human aid would avail us nothing, And none could say 
what our late would be. But of all my thoughts the bitterest 
were those which recalled the friends waiting for us at home, 
who would now be left for a year without news. For myself, 
personally, this was a day to be remembered, and I knew, or 
hoped at least, that warm thoughts were speeding to me 
across the ice. It was no'joyful intelligence I had to com¬ 
municate to my comrades wlien J returned to the station. 
Maybe they did not consider the matter to be so fully decided 
as I did ; but I wish in this place to express my thanks to them 
for the manner m which they received the news of this severe 
blow. No one complained, 110 one showed any signs of fear, 
but from that moment we spoke no more of relief. When we 
mentioned the future it was but to consult on the best means 
of preparing for, and employing, our second winter. 



' f: is 


1 > 



CHAPTER XVII. 


THE SECOND WINTER 

We continue to collect food-supplies Our weekly lull of f.ue clunng the winlci-— 
March storms—Anangcment of the scientific work—Mulwintci feast Peculiar 
winter weatliei—Piepmations foi the sludge-journey 

WINTER did not set in directly 
after these storms, for February 
gave us several fine days, but 

it would have been difficult 

later on to make our way to 
Seymour Island by boat, so 
that we were glad to have such 
an important supply ol pro¬ 
visions as the penguin meat 
formed, collected at the station. 
A hundred penguin breasts 
were bung up m the open air, 
where the cold preserved them 
perfectly; the rest of the meat was salted in barrels. This 

last procedure was an unnecessary precaution for which we 

paid dearly enough afterwards, but we were in want ol 
experience in such matters and dared not expose ourselves to 
any risk. We zealously continued our collection ol seal-slcins, 
and it was no easy thing for a seal to come on to the ice in 
our neighbourhood unnoticed. 

On the 23rd, Sobral had killed and skinned a seal near a 
little iceberg m the sound, and I determined to go with our 





THE SECOND WINTER. 


273 


“ sparkstotting ” * and fetch in the skin. We had hitherto 
scarcely tried this means of transport, blit I had thought that 
in expeditions which suffered from a scarcity of clogs, this kind 
of sledge would prove suitable for the level, hard ice which 
I expected to find (and have done) in these regions, and so I 
had had one made for the expedition, after a model of my 
own In order to get it stronger and steadier I had sacrificed 



Photo %] [NORDENSKJOLD. 

The Doctor busied with physiological investigations. 

some of the advantages a “ sparkstotting ” offers, but I con¬ 
sider that the principle is a correct one, and is worthy of atten¬ 
tion in the equipment of polar expeditions, although further 
trials are necessary ere the best model can be fixed upon. 

The skin thus carried home was the 33rd in our supply. We 
burned both blubber and skin together in the kitchen-range, 

* A land oE light sledge with long, nanow runners, in the middle of which lies a 
small seat with a high back, behind which one stands, and to which one holds fast. 
One foot is placed on a lest on the runner, while the other foot, armed with a 
clamper, propels the machine foiward by means of a succession of backward kicks, 
from wheuce the Swedish name “kick-pusher.” (See illustration, page zJ2.) — Trans. 

18 



274 


ANTARCTICA 


and thirty skins proved a sufficient fuel supply, both for 
purposes of cooking and the warming of the house during the 
winter, no special economy being of necessity. 

The iollowing list shows the weekly bill of fare arranged 
to last until the end of November, by which time we hoped 
relief would have come, and when, in any case, we should be 
able to procure new supplies of eggs, birds, etc When that 
time came we should have left, apart from some selected 
articles which were regarded as really belonging to our medical 
stores, a few boxes of boat-provisions, flour and rice, oats, 
etc,, a quantity of pemmican and some dried and preserved 
vegetables 

Sunday. — Breakfast , lobscouse of kohl-rabi; dinner, pre- 
seived meat and potted vegetables, potted soup, dessert ; 
supper , sardines and cold bird 

Monday. — Breakfast, porridge and (for the present) herrings 
and potatoes ; dinner, penguin and dried vegetables, small 
pancakes and jam ; supper, pastry and cold bird 

Tuesday. — Breakfast, seal-steak and dried greens ; dinner, 
blood-pudding or blood-sausage, potted soup , supper, 
warmed-up steak 

Wednesday — Breakfast, porridge ; dinner, salt meat (later 
on, penguin) and beans, fruit soup ; supper, cold bird. 

Thursday. — Breakfast, seal-steak ; dinner, pea-soup and 
salt penguin, small pancakes and jam ; supper, warmed-up 
steak 

Friday — Breakfast, porridge , dinner, penguin and maca¬ 
roni or rice, “ salt-soup ” ; supper, pastry and cold bird. 

Saturday. — Breakfast, seal-stealc; dinner, salt or dried 
fish and dried vegetables, chocolate-soup ; supper, warmed-up 
seal-stealc 

In addition, we had coffee m the morning and also after- 
dinner, with tea or cocoa in the evening We had bread at 
every meal, and butter three times (later on, twice) daily. At 
first we were afraid that"we should run short of coffee, but by 
boiling the grounds thoroughly we managed to get a fairly 
palatable liquid twice a day throughout the winter. 




The hill outside the dwelling-house . the thermometer screens and the astronomical observatory. 









ANTARCTICA 


2 76 

Of course this menu docs not look at all bad on paper, but 
it was terribly monotonous. I shall return to this subject 
later on, and point out the deficiencies which made them¬ 
selves most felt. 

But the reader must not imagine that it was only corporeal 
cares that occupied our thoughts at this period. No human 
being had hitherto spent two wintcis in succession in Ant- 
aictic regions, and we endeavoured to exert our faculties to 
the utmost m order to make flic best use of this rare oppor¬ 
tunity It was, of course, the meteorological observations 
which would profit most by the lengthened stay, and the 
important results obtained in this respect alone might well 
balance all the sacrifices we were to make But 111 addition to 
this, the value of nearly all the other work we had carried out, 
the astronomical, magnetical, bacteriological, cartographical, 
and our investigation of the ice, etc., would be increased m no 
inconsiderable degree by its continuation through this extended 
period, and we endeavoured from the very beginning to dis¬ 
cover new lines and methods of investigation 

At the close of February and the beginning of March we had 
very unsettled and, oftentimes, stormy weather. On the 5th 
March we experienced a natural phenomenon, most peculiar 111 
these regions, viz., a fall of ram. We had occasionally had a 
few drops before, but this time it continued the whole day, 
and was sometimes so heavy that it was unpleasant to go out 
of doors. But a change came on rapidly. Bodman is said 
to have written in his diary that winter began to-day at 6.30 
p.m ; if he did, our meteorologist’s prognostication was 
fulfilled better than he himself perhaps expected. For now 
followed a period of storm and cold, which, even in our experi¬ 
ence, was unusually severe for the time of the year, the month 
of March showing a mean temperature of — ii° 4 C. (n°.5 F ), 
and the wind an average velocity of 13^ metres (43.8 feet) per 
second, and this in spite of the relatively calm and warm days 
at the commencement of the month. 

April began with finer weather, and for three months there 
prevailed in general severe cold with comparatively few 



THE SECOND WINTER 


277 


storms I was now able to begin my long intended work of 
making a senes of soundings and observations of temperature 
out m Admiralty Sound. It pioved that the temperature of 
the water the whole way to the bottom, a depth of 130 metres 
(422^ feet), was everywhere the same, amounting during the 
winter to about - i°.g C. (28.“58 F). In connection with 



[Sketched from a photograph. 
A snorting seal looks out at us from his hole. 


these soundings Ekelof, too, carried out some experiments 
for bacteriological purposes. 

It was at this time that the fate of the Falkland dogs was 
finally determined A couple of them, including Kune, our 
four-footed friend from the sledge expedition, had already 
been killed by the other dogs during the course of the summer. 
A peculiar circumstance which I had several times observed was, 
that before a dog was bitten to death by the others he always 
seemed to be aware of what was in store for him, quite as if he 
had previously received notice of his death sentence. One 


27S 


ANTARCTICA 


day in May the last of these Falklanders disappeared ; I 
looked lor him a long time in vain, but at last found him 
lying dead among some blocks of ice on the shore. I felt his 
loss very much ; he had followed me faithfully on all my 
wanderings, and was the last of the dogs who was a companion 
and a friend. 

At the beginning of April we were fortunate enough to be 
able to kill no less than six uncommonly large seals. Thanks 
to their meat, which was carefully preserved, we escaped 
being obliged to eat only salted penguin for a great part of 
the winter, and their sluns, which were unusually well-lined 
with blubber, gave us fuel for more than a month 

Thus week after week passed. At the beginning of May I 
made a sledge-]ourney to Seymour Island, in order to fetch 
the tent we had left there on a previous visit and also some 
ol the contents of the depot After a long period of cold we 
were now favoured with some exceptionally warm days, 
which enabled me to resume my cartographic work, but this 
lasted only for a short time. The baiometer fell with extreme 
rapidity, and on the night of the 2nd June reached the minimum 
for the whole period we spent in these tracts—708 millimetres 
(27.874 inches). There came a hurricane at the same time, 
probably the severest we experienced, but happily it lasted 
only a few hours It brought back old remembrances when 
we afterwards had to go and look for the things which had 
blown away. 

We had celebrated the midwinter ol the preceding year, 
and no one can wonder if we did the same this year, but with 
still greater satisfaction. It was a dark time, that which lay 
behind us, a time of nervous excitement and waiting, of gloomy 
views of the future, ol many difficult situations ; a time when 
, none could know how the coming months should be. But by 
the help of goodwill everything had passed off as well as one 
could expect, and now every coming day would be lighter than 
its predecessor, until we once more had summer with us. It 
would be wrong to say that we were merry as we sat gathered 
together, but we were possessed by a feeling of security and 




The shortest day of the year - the sun looks out from behind Cockbuin Island 



280 


ANTARCTICA 


hope, for we knew that it depended in the greatest degree 
upon ourselves if valuable results were to reward our long 
waiting Our feast was, perhaps, not so varied as that of 
the previous year, but maybe it tasted better. 

Bodman photographed the sun that day when it was at 
its lowest, just when it swept from behind Cockburu Island, 
which had foi a moment hidden her from our gaze as though 
it were an actual eclipse. She went down at 1.40 p m on 
this, our shortest day, but at 3 p.m. we could still read off 
the thermometers without using a lantern. 

It would be difficult to imagine a gieater difference in the 
weather than that presented by these two years. It is true 
that the second winter was considerably coldei at the begin¬ 
ning, but it was mcompaiably less stormy, although a climate 
m which the wind has a mean velocity per month of 6 metres 
(19-} feet) per second must, ot course, be always considered 
very windy But, as it was, it made a considerable difference 
to us as we were nearly always able to be out of doois, this 
latter fact being the only reason that the time did not seem 
to pass more slowly than it chd Some ol us even thought 
that the time went rapidly; one said that the weeks went 
quickly ancl the months slowly ; as for myself I had no clcai 
idea whether the time passed quickly or not. I only know 
that when I looked back, everything appeared to me equally 
remote, whether it had happened one month or six previously. 
Of course we had some storms, but these merely reminded 
us how thankful we should be lor the weather we usually 
enj oyed 

But we had continually before our imaginations the picture 
of the storm which we felt certain must come after such a long 
succession of calm days , we painted in lively colours the 
terrors of the cold which might be expected when the early 
part of the winter had already been so seveic in spite of the 
absence of south-west winds And we called to mind that 
it was about the middle of July that we had experienced the 
greatest cold of the preceding year. 

It was, therefore, to say the least, very surprising when, 



THE SECOND WINTER. 


281 


on the 17th J uly, after a morning which showed about - 30° C. 
(- 22 0 F ), the wind suddenly changed into a storm from the 
north, whilst in the evening the thermometer rose to +4 0 C. 
(39 0 2 F.), for we had had such weather as this only once or 
twice duung all the previous months When we went to the 
top of the lull we could see that extensive leads had been 
formed 111 the ice, and someone repeated the well-known 
summer cry : “ Ossifraga ! ” and we saw a great storm-bird, 
a giant petrel, circling over the station. 

Three days later the warm wind disappeared as suddenly 
as it had come ; after an almost momentaiy calm, the south¬ 
west storm arrived as unexpectedly, driving the temperature 
down to -20 0 C. ( — 4° F.). But the break of warm weather 
just mentioned was, however, not an exceptional phenomenon, 
for during the course of the following months the same north 
winds came over and over again, and always accompanied 
by the formation of extensive leads amongst the ice, The 
difference in the mean temperatures for the two years we were 
here was exceedingly great, for during this July we had - 12 C° 
(io°.4 F.), instead of -28° C. (-18° 4 F.), while on the 3th 
August of this same year we had a maximum of 9 0 3 C. 
(48°.74 F.), the highest temperature observed in Antarctic 
regions, not only by us, but also by anyone who has visited 
these tracts. And this in the midst of winter ! 

Had this weather been reliable, it would have been possible 
to begin our sledge-journeys now, in spite of the shortness of 
the days. But the mild weather was interrupted every now 
and then by severe storms and cold, whilst it was itself accom¬ 
panied by heavy winds It was first on the 20th August 
that we made a short trip to the depdt behind Cape Hamilton 
We took home a part of the contents with us, the remainder 
being left for future needs. I had intended visiting Cape 
Gage on the return journey, but as we had a storm the next 
day, and the 22nd threatened one too, we turned back to the 
station, which we reached before the hurricane came on in 
earnest. 

The fine weather was now at an end for a long time to come, 



282 


ANTARCTICA 


the remamdei of August and the whole of September being 
comparatively cold and stormy. It is true that we had a few 
fine days, but during the latter half of September we had 
exceedingly bad weather, just as m the preceding year ; and 
although I hoped every day to be able to begin a sledge-ex- 
pedition, for which we had long made preparations, it always 
proved impossible to start. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

MOODS AND MODES OF LIFE DURING THE WINTER. 

Om position at the beginning of the wmtei —Food—Conduion of health—Clothes— 
How we spent our days—Firing—Berths -Thoughts of the future—What we 
missed—Dteams—Longing foi active work—Our scientific labours. 

It is now my intention to give a connected description ol our 
moods and modes of life during this second wintering thus 
forced upon us, 

It is such a usual thing for Polar expeditions to spend three 
and even four years amid the ice, that two years ought not to 
have appeared such a very long period But in making such 
a companson one should first set aside the expeditions that 
have wintered m the vicinity of Esquimaux colonies, and it 
should also be remembered that our first winter heie, m con¬ 
sequence of its stormy character, was certainly much more 
trying than the combination of cold and darkness which 
encounters the explorer in North Polar tracts. In addition 
to this, our party was an unusually small one, and all too 



ANTARCTICA. 


2S4 

little homogeneous 111 its composition foi such a long com¬ 
panionship. But the weightiest consideration of all was, 
perhaps, that we were so perfectly unprepared for the 
eventuality Had we but landed, having planned a two years’ 
residence here, we should certainly never have experienced 
any feelings of despondency ; had we fixed upon a station 
where we might have foreseen the probability of such a lengthy 
stay we should certainly have taken larger stores with us , 
and had the blow then come, it would have been anticipated, 
and, therefore, easier to bear. But as matters now were, the 
four months of uncertainty awakened a nervous expectancy, 
and when the fear of being confined here for another year was 
changed into a certainty, this, 111 its turn, bred complete mis¬ 
trust m the future, We thought that when we had once been 
thus disappointed, there was nothing we could rely on that 
had regard to relief and summer weather 

We had brought with us reserve supplies of food, which had 
become diminished m consequence of our having used them 
too freely during the first year, and of which we had now to 
make a second reserve for the event of our having to spend a 
third winter here The insufficiency thus caused was most 
felt m regard to articles which, happily, were not amongst 
those absolutely necessary, such as sugar, coffee and milk ; 
so that otherwise we should not have had any reasonable 
cause of complaint of our food had we but always had a 
supply of fresh meat. But we had, unfortunately, already 
salted down the greater part of the pengum-meat, and even as 
early as July it was only a few times weekly that we could 
have fresh seal- or pengum-meat , so that, although we 
managed to catch one little seal in August, we were for the 
most pait compelled to eat the strongly-salted penguin-meat 
twice daily, and it was as hard and as tough as leather. The 
last day before we again killed some seals in September I 
made a special entry in my diary that we had been put on very 
unpleasant diet: salt penguin for breakfast, dinner and 
supper, and, in addition, an uncommonly salt soup at dinner, 
consisting of dried greens boiled with salt penguin-meat. 




The large iceberg in Aimnnlly Sound. 



286 ANTARCTICA 

But then the fresh seal-meat tasted so much better when it 
came ! 

We did not like the dried greens at first, but we soon grew 
used to them, and afterwards thought we could never have 
enough of them. The pengum-meat was served boiled or 
roasted for dinner, and cut in slices, and at breakfast time as 
a kind of steak boiled in a frying-pan without butter, or nearly 
so. We never tried to use seal-blubber for food I may add 
that pengum-meat does not taste badly, at least when it is 
fresh, and pengum-meat boiled with pea-soup was an ex¬ 
cellent dish 

We had ship’s biscuits on the table twice a day; at the 
other two meals we had home-made bread. There was a 
plentiful supply of flour, but unfortunately we had taken too 
little baking-powder with us It must, therefore, be regarded 
as a piece of great good fortune that we were able, m the 
midst of the wilderness, to discover a means of procuring yeast 
for baking purposes. At the close of March, when we were 
going to use the last remains of our dried potatoes, we found 
them quite black and unfit for use. But on Ekelof s studying 
a specimen under the microscope he observed an organism 
resembling a yeast-fungus. He commenced to cultivate this 
in a specially prepared dough, which was allowed to remain 
some days in a narrow open flask, and it was found that the 
dough could actually be made to ferment From that time we 
were supplied with properly-leavened bread during the whole 
of the winter, and it tasted much better than that prepared 
with baking-powder. Still I am not sure but that the bread 
so prepared contributed somewhat to produce the stomach 
complaints from which we often suffered during residence at 
the station, but never during the sledge-expeditions. 

But it was not only our food-supplies which thus gradually 
came to an end. Our stearine candles rapidly diminished in 
number, but ere they came to an end we laid by a sufficient 
number for the continuation of our observations by lantern- 
light “ next winter.” Matters were worse with our clothes. 

It is true that we had a sufficient supply of underclothing, but 



LIFE DURING THE WINTER. 287 

our ordinary outer clothes began to look a little strange with 
big patches sewn on in every possible direction. We were, 
worse off for boots, which were soon worn out in our stony, 
almost snow-free surroundings. 

It contributed much to our comfort that we succeeded so 
well m the attempt to use blubber for firing. We had still a 
considerable amount of coal left, but we never touched it 
during the winter, as we soon found that it was more advan¬ 
tageous to use blubber. Although we threw both skin and 
blubber into the stove we could never observe any unpleasant 
smell, while it gave greater warmth than coal and was easier 
to light. We were thus saved the necessity of paying per¬ 
petual attention to the fire, and although we seldom lighted 
the kitclien-range in the evening, it was warmer indoors now 
than during the preceding winter. But we suffered some 
inconveniences in consequence of this method of firing, for 
while the blubber burned, much fluid fat ran through the 
bars; and although we placed an iron pan underneath 
we could not prevent the stuff from coming on to the floor, 
where it gradually spread, forming a sticky mass which 
retained dirt and dust, and was as unpleasant to see as to 
tread on. 

It is true that we were still contented with our little house, 
but it had not improved beneath the hand of tune. When 
our candles came to an end, and a hanging-lamp was placed 
m our cabin, I wrote in my diary : “ The lamp lights up the 
room almost too well, for it is not pleasant to see its 
clear gleam fall upon walls covered with sticky cardboard, 
adorned with snow crystals, drops of water and mildew, and 
hung with dirty clothes and shoes. The poor pictures are 
black and damp ; all articles of iron are rusty, and the bed¬ 
clothes are falling to pieces.” And the following entry is 
drastic evidence of the ravages of damp in our small rooms : 
“ My books and papers which I keep m a box on the floor are 
wet and mouldy, and would be destroyed in a few weeks were 
they not taken out now and then to be dried. After having 
been away for a few days I was the more easily able to distm- 



288 


ANTARCTICA 


guish the sour, apple-like smell of mildew in my bed. A pea 
that had found its way into the bed had begun to grow there, 
and had not only thrown out roots two or three inches in 
length, but was also provided with a long stalk and small un¬ 
developed leaves. But these latter were yellow enough, for 
they had been unable to get any sun ! ” 

What did we think of during that period ? Well, we 
did not often speak of relief, but I suppose that subject was 
often in our mmds. As far as I know there existed amongst 
us an unwavering belief that it would be the Antarctic that 
would come to fetch us off, we merely wondered what our 
comrades were doing the meanwhile, and if any of them had 
gone home 

But much more actual was the question, as to whether we 
should do anything towards our own rescue, should the ice 
next summer prove to lie as closely packed as it had done this. 
We could all see that it would be exceedingly difficult to travel 
over the ice during the summer time for the distance neces¬ 
sary ere we could calculate on seeing a vessel, and also that 
there was very little probability of our succeeding in the 
effort; but I really believe that m the event I have men¬ 
tioned, something would have been attempted in preference 
to remaining here m inaction ; and, having the prospect of 
being able to catch seals on the way, and having our dogs 
as draught-animals, and with our light boat, I imagine we 
should have travelled no little distance, and it would have 
been long ere we should have allowed anything to compel us 
to return. 

In order that such a hermit’s life as ours can be at all 
endurable it is indispensable that the harmony amongst the 
members of the party shall be as great as possible. Com¬ 
munity of labour is here the strongest factor; next to this I 
place community m amusements—card-playing, for example. 
It is, naturally, the course of daily life which plays the chief 
r6le in such an existence, even if a festive occasion is also of 
importance as a salutary interruption of the monotony. Our 
feasts this winter were not many, being only Midsummer day 



LIFE DURING THE WINTER. 389 

and birthdays, but those that came were celebrated as heartily 
and as thoroughly as possible 

But in spite of all this, one always felt lonely, and it was 
first after we met our comrades from Hope Bay that we per¬ 
ceived how much we had longed for news from the outer 
world, and to meet with other people. And there were a 
great many other things we missed. “ Cigars, music and 



Photo Toy] 


One of Ihe berths 


[E EKBLtfF 


books ” were what someone said he most longed for. Although 
the scenery which surrounded us was of uncommon interest, 
and was, too, magnificently grand, it had in the long run a 
fatiguing and depressing influence upon us. I, at least, very 
much missed the presence of verdure ; with what delight 
should we not have greeted one little blade of grass ! The 
absence of colours was also felt exceedingly. Red, green and 
yellow—that is, the colours which, more than all others, have 

19 




29C 


ANTARCTICA 


a stimulating influence upon the senses—were almost entirely 
wanting, both indoors and out ; one saw only white, blue, 
brown, and those almost preternaturally fine, pale, pure tints 
which are so characteristic of winter in Polar lands. They 
can never be reproduced by the artist’s brash, but they attract 
the beholdei with wondrous power, although they seem to 
radiate a something which resembles the chill of death. 

Very illustrative ol the direction of our innermost thoughts 
were our dreams, which were never more vivid and numerous 
than now Even those of us who otherwise dreamed but 
seldom, had long stones to tell in the morning when we com¬ 
pared our latest experiences from tins world of fantasy. All 
of our visions concerned the outer world which now lay so 
distant from us, but were usually applied to our present 
circumstances One of the most characteristic dreams was 
that where one ol us fancied he had gone back to his school- 
bench, in order to learn how to day miniature seals which 
were of a size just suitable for use m instructing a class. But 
meat and drink were usually the centres around which our 
dreams revolved One of us who made a specialty of going to 
banquets in lus visions was highly pleased one morning when 
he could relate that “ last night I managed to get through 
three courses.” Naturally w r e were also busied in our visions 
with more impossible things, but the want of fantasy m 
almost all the dreams I had, or those which I heard related, 
was most apparent ; still I think it would have been of 
great psychological interest had all these dreams been taken 
down. 

A thing that I missed above all things was regular, ordered 
work. All the preceding pages must have shown the diffi¬ 
culty there was in arranging such labour, whether indoor work 
or outdoor. But we were differently situated in this respect; 
Jonassen and Akerlund, in a still greater degree, had their 
fixed daily occupations, and, as regards the scientists, the 
physical observations demanded schematically allotted labour. 
Bodman and Sobral undertook several astronomical observa¬ 
tions, jmd the magnetical observations m which we all took 




End of a sledge-journey 




2 Q3 ANTARCTICA 

part were made twice and, in some cases, four times a 
month * 

As far as regards the possibility of devoting ourselves unin¬ 
terruptedly to the work of scientific investigation, Ekelof and 
myself were the least happily situated, although we did the 
best that lay in our power to remedy this state of things. 
Besides taking part in the general observations, Ekelof 
watched over the general health, and collected statistical 
material respecting our provisioning, but he was chiefly and 
regularly occupied with bacteriological investigations These 
gave interesting results from the very beginning, and their 
scope was varied m many ways in order to gain a more inti¬ 
mate knowledge of the conditions of bacterial life m these 
regions. Some very interesting physiological examinations 
were also made. As for myself I collected fossils from our 
immediate vicinity and made, with the comparatively unsuit¬ 
able instruments at my disposal, a tuangulation of the island 
to serve as the framework of a more exact mapping-out of the 
tract. But with such work one is absolutely dependent on 
the weather, and even when it was calm down at the station 
there was often too much wind up on the plateau tor any¬ 
thing to be done. 

The examination of the ice on Snow Hill gave more interest¬ 
ing results. The temperature series was this year more com¬ 
plete than that of the foregoing ; I was able to copfirm the 
observation that, even under such a winter as the one we 
then had, there was but little increase on the free surface of 
the ice, while it was especially instructive to follow the trans¬ 
formation of the same snow which I had seen fall during the 
summer of the preceding year, into granulated ice or a 
crystallized mass. But, on the other hand, it was more diffi¬ 
cult now than then, to study the structure of the ice in the 

* It is self-evident that the experience gained during these two winters, so 
diffeient to each other in meteorological respects, must have been of great import¬ 
ance, especially when we remember that both the English South Polar Expedition 
and the Argentine Station weie still at work and that, in addition to this, the Scotch 
Expedition had its field of activity so near to us, while similar obseivnLions were 
also being made on Paulet Island. ,r, 




Sobral “ shooting the sun m w intei weather. 






294 


ANTARCTICA. 


ice-wall towards the sea, as this had been partially destroyed, 
and was partly concealed by the masses ol snow which had 
heaped themselves m its front. 

There were also some calculations which had to be done 
indoors, but even with this my work was insufficient to occupy 
all my time. When the days were fine too, they were not 
long enough for me to extend my walk to less known tracts, 
and, therefore, my longings turned towards spring and 
summer. Then first could I study new and unknown regions 
on my sledge-expedition, and then, too, would the Antarctic 
return, and we should have still some months before us, 
before returning to the north, to further investigate the rich 
fields of labour whose existence here we had proved 




CHAPTER XIX. 

DISCOVERY OF CROWN PRINCE GUSTAF CHANNEL. 

Plans and equipment for the sledge-expedition—An unsuccessful start—Om tent 
blown to pieces—We letuin to the station -A new attempt—Clown Piiuce 
Gustat Channel ; its scenery and sunoundmgs 

I had not for a moment doubted that I should be able to 
undertake a sledge-expedition this year too. Such a journey 
had other attractions now, when the surrounding country was 
no longer new and unknown, and, m any case, the labour it 
might cost me would come as an unspeakable relief from the 
long monotony of life at the station. On examining the 
charts of the coast where we were, we clearly perceived liow 
completely unknown the tract immediately north of the 
station was. One might hope to obtain specially rich geo¬ 
logical results there, whilst as regards its geography, I had 
come to the conclusion—although, it is true, without fully 
sufficient grounds—that the great gulf we had discovered the 
previous year behind Cape Foster unites with the bay to 
the rear of Cape Gordon to form one mighty channel, and it 
was this that I intended making the chief object of my in¬ 
vestigations. 

Our position in regard to sledge-expeditions was consider¬ 
ably altered in many respects since the preceding year. Our 
team of dogs was a better one: the four veterans from the 



ANTARCTICA 


2gO 

long expedition were still alive, and in the place of Kuirc we 
had two splendid young Newfoundlanders This gam was 
somewhat discounted by the fact of Suggen, our best dog, 
having injured Ins foot on a piece ol sharp iron, so that it 
became a question whether he could support the fatigues of a 
severe journey. The younger dogs were not yet strong 
enough for such work, but still they could be of service to the 
men remaining at the station in carrying home the meat and 
skins of seals and penguins 

Oui food-supplies were, on the whole, little worse than 
those of the year before, foi we still had a sufficient quantity 
of the most important article both for men and dogs— 
pemmican—and we could always count upon having lentil- 
soup for supper It is true that we should be obliged to 
observe economy with the other ai tides, but still, the supply 
was large enough to allow of our arranging for the same fare 
as before, although we had to reduce the consumption of tea 
and coffee pretty considerably. 

But I attached special importance to the experience gamed 
during the foregoing year’s expedition. We then learned 
the great importance of having a dog-team sufficiently large 
to do away with the necessity of taking a second sledge, were 
it ever so light, intended to be drawn by the members of the 
party. And as it would not be practical to divide our 
six dogs between two sledges I resolved on this occasion to 
take but one sledge. And, contrasted with the very essential 
inciease in both weight and volume caused by the carriage of 
the sleeping-clothes, provisions, petroleum, etc., which would 
be required should a third person accompany the party in 
addition to the two who were necessary for such a journey, 
his usefulness would play hut a very small rSle. It was, of 
course, possible that our dogs could now draw a month’s 
supplies forjdiree persons, even should we meet with difficult 
ice at the commencement of the journey, but the heavy 
burden would certainly cause much inconvenience, and inevit¬ 
ably delay the'[march. I therefore chose Jonassen alone to 
be my companion on the expedition. 



THE CROWN PRINCE GUSTAF CHANNEL. 297 

As regal ds the provisions we took, they were calculated to 
last us 30 days and the dogs about 20 I also took 18 litres 
(31.7 pints) of petroleum, two pairs of skis and a pretty large le- 
seive supply of clothes. I11 order that we should be able to 
complete the whole of our programme for the winter it was of 
importance for us to start as soon as possible But the 28th 



jSSsjjfjfe 


PJwlo by] [B. EEXLSp 

We begin our march. 

September was as cold and stormy as the preceding days, 
with a wind velocity of nearly 20 metres (65 leet) per second, 
so that matters did not look promising; but on rising the 
next morning I found the weather fairly fine, although the 
thermometer showed -25° C, (-13° F.), and the barometer 
was no higher than 740 millim, (29.13 inches). Still, we had 
often had tine weather with a low barometer and vice versa, 




29S 


ANTARCTICA 


and as the weather grew still better during the next hour I 
hesitated no longer, but wakened Jonassen, and at once began 
to load the sledge. 

Even before we started clouds had begun to gather in all 
directions, and Mount Haddington was wrapped m mist ; 
but our intention being to go first to Lockyer Island, we hoped 
to find lee there, even should we be overtaken by a storm. 
We meant then to continue our march past Cape Foster, but 
we did not intend touching the depot at Cape Hamilton, 
where it was to remain as a reserve m the event of the ice m 
the channel breaking up. 

The march went briskly over the hard, smooth ice nearest 
the station, and one of us could easily ride on the sledge 
whilst the other went in front and set the course Behind Cape 
Hamilton the going grew worse, the crust on the layer of snow 
which we found there on the icc being so thin that men, dogs, 
and sledge broke through, and the wound on Suggcn’s foot 
opened again, the poor animal leaving behind him tracks of 
blood. To add to all this, a south-west wind began to blow 
direct in our faces, and now, instead of being able to sit upon 
the load, it became our turn to help the dogs. But thanks 
to our skis we managed to proceed pretty easily, and by six 
o’clock we encamped at the loot of the immense snow-drift 
which had accumulated against the north side oi Lockyer 
Island. 

When I looked through our provisions the next morning I 
found that a sack of bread had been forgotten—nearly one- 
hall of the supply we had thought necessaiy. Unless we wished 
to return to the station, or to run the risk of being obliged to 
partially dispense with this important article, we had no other 
resource than to turn aside to the depot which was close by, 
and take the supply of bread laid up there. 

A storm prevented us from continuing our journey that day, 
and we had hoped for an improvement m the weather; but 
the next morning, October 1st, it pioved to be worse than 
ever, and we were obliged to remain m the sleeping-bag. 
After taking dinner and having tried to sweep out our tent 



THE CROWN PRINCE GUSTAF CHANNEL 29 9 

and make it as cosy as possible, we had once more crept into 
our sack and lay listening to the storm when, without any 
previous warning, the whole tent was blown over our heads 
The strop of the farther tent-pole had been wrenched loose, 
and several large holes were made m the tent-cloth. The 
damage done was pretty considerable, and we were obliged 
to do our best at once to mend it. Luckily we were able to 
repair it so far that we could still he inside, but with one pole 



Photo by] [IfOBDESSKJQHD 

In the morning a great part of our tent wa^ buried in the snow 


taken down and the front part of the cloth hanging down and 
partly covered with the snow we had heaped upon it 

Under these circumstances it was clear that we must return 
to the station ere we could continue our journey Such a step 
would have been advisable for the sake of the bread-supply 
alone, but now it would also be of advantage to replenish the 
provisions we had uselessly consumed during those days of 
storm. 

When we worked our way out of the tent the next morning 
we found the weather considerably improved, so that we could 
make a start homewards. We left the greater part of the 




3oo 


ANTARCTICA 


equipment in a large depot, and this made our load much 
lighter to draw, and when we came to the old tracks near the 
station both of us could sit on the sledge and ride, doing the 
whole distance of nearly 30 kilometies (18 miles) in three 
hours and a half Matters were soon explained, and after 
looking to the baggage we resumed our ordinary labours 
again It cannot be denied that it was a little nritating for 
our long-prepared expedition to come to such an ignominious 
end. We did not create much-to-do about it, but made up 
our minds that the delay should be as short a one as possible. 

On the evening of the following day we got a north-west 
wind once more. It incieased during the night, but as it was 
a favourable breeze, and the temperature was nearly up to 
freezing-point, I considered that we ought to make a start, 
and the wind falling towards morning we had still less reason 
for delay. No one accompanied us on the way, and no solemn 
farewells marked the commencement of what proved the most 
remarkable of all the sledge-journeys carried out by the 
Expedition. 

Our load was light, but we were m no huny to leach Lockyer 
Island, where wc intended camping for the night On 
reaching the place, we pitched oui tent quite near the spot 
where we had lately spent so many unpleasant hours, and I 
had time to make a series of measurements away near the 
headland. Round about me hovered flocks of ice-petrels, 
which have their nests high up on the precipitous dark wall 
of basalt. One hears their cooing—their croaking one might 
almost call it—which is lather loud for such a little and, in 
appearance, ethereal bird. 

In the evening we suddenly had a pretty strong, but 
waim and^ equable, wind of quite a different character to 
the one we_ had before. But the following morning the 
weather had changed once more, and we had fog and snow 
with a faint breeze from the south-west, but it did not prevent 
our starting again. The snow was, on the whole, pretty deep, 
but it bore us so well that I did not trouble myself about using 
skis as I-, went ahead and set the course, with the dogs and 



THE CROWN PRINCE GUSTAF CHANNEL 301 

the slgdge close at my heels. Directly south of the island we 
saw a dark object in the snow, and on steering thither we found 
a dead seal with its head buned deeply in the snow. It had 
probably frozen to death—and one can imagine the weather 
that could thus be the death of a full-grown seal. 

We gradually approached Cape Foster and swung round 
the headland into the magnificent gulf which we had seen 
for the fust time just one year previously. A great bight 
penetrates the land here towards the east, and here we chose 
a good camping-place, and stayed for the night among some 
frozen-m blocks of ice, Some seals lay close by, and we killed 
a young one for ourselves and the dogs. I once more give 
some extracts from my diary • 

October 6th —“ The day was cloudy and windy to begin 
with, but the weather has since been brilliant We have 
passed quite a number of fissures and inequalities in the ice, 
as well as deep depressions with walls on both sides. One 
can mark that this is sea-ice by the seals. To-day will always 
be memorable for me on account of the magnificence of the 
panorama by which we are here surrounded. It is first now 
that we can mark what an extensive stretch of water we have 
discovered, whether it be a bay or a channel. One can see 
that the shores gradually approach each other. The land to 
our west, the continuation of King Oscar’s Land, consists of 
a high, continuous ice-plateau, which is better visible the farther 
off from it one is. In front of this lie wild ridges and even 
isolated peaks, the latter often of a very regular pyramidal 
form. Nearest the sea can frequently be observed a con¬ 
tinuous ice-foot. 

“ Quite different is the scenery on the eastern side, the land 
presenting the same lell-formation as that observable from our 
winter-station—a high, commanding cone of ice, whose top, 
however, is not visible from here, and the side of which 
towards the sea is broken by semi-circular valleys with almost 
perpendicular black and red walls of basalt. At the bottom 
of these valleys are great bodies of ice, and between them 
project black, shapeless, mountainous masses which fall 



3<J2 


ANTARCTICA. 


precipitously to the sea Sharp ridges and peaks, form 
no thin g but details in this picture.” 

October 8tJi .—“We have been obliged to camp here two 
whole days, but I have been able to make some short excur¬ 
sions. It was interesting to discover a sandstone here, too, 
with vegetable fossils, although these are unfortunately quite 
undeterminable. Above the sandstone lies spread the coarse 
basalt tuff, which is also found at Admiralty Sound. Judging 
from the geological formation it appears probable that Mount 
Haddington is an ancient volcano, and its form would confirm 
this view.” 



Pholofoj ] [Noun I NHKJuI It 

Befoie ub lay a peculiai, almost hemisphciical island, 


October gth .—“ The day has been magnificent. We passed 
the one projecting peninsula after the other, separated by bays, 
which m one or two cases were terminated only by a low naze. 
The geological conditions are interesting, and it is clear that 
I must stay and examine them ere quitting these tracts. 

“ Our march was directed towards a little, peculiarly- 
formed, almost hemispherical island,* much resembling 
Rosamel Island. The ice was in places excellent to travel 
across, but each bay was marked by one of those belts of ice- 

* Named Wilhelm Cavlsson’s Island, after one of the chief financial piomotcis of 
the Swedish Expedition. 




THE CROWN PRINCE GUSTAF CHANNEL 303 

blocks which were now so common Finally, we saw the 
mainland run out 111 a long point, not more than 10 to 20 
meties (321—65 feet) high, and here we camped for the night 
behind a lofty hummock. Theie were in the neighbouihood 
an uncommonly large number of icebergs, some pietty laige, 
and fragments of otheis The evening was as fine as the day 
has been. To the west and north extends King Oscar’s Land, 
with the witching light of evening falling on its stupendous, 





PMo &y] [KoanESSKJoui. 

Cape Lagrehus. 

white-glancing glaciers, its bold ridges and its peaks. Many 
of these are isolated, but towards the interior they close to form 
a high, insurmountable mountain-wall. In the north-east lies 
the strange black island I have just mentioned, and then 
comes a low cape, the only one that now shuts out the view in 
the direction where the problem we have travelled hither to 
solve will be unriddled—the question whether this water be a 
channel or not. To the east extends that land whose coast 
we have now so long followed, with its variegated perpendicular 
cliffs, which remind me of a landscape I have previously seen 
only in Greenland. 



304 


ANTARCTICA 


Everything around me was quiet and still, while I looked at 
a picture which as I imagined had never before been seen by 
human eye. I little thought at that moment that, scarcely 
more than a day’s march trom us, there were others who, 
perhaps at the very same hour, were gazing at the scene now 
before me—at regions which I believed to be quite unknown ” 

October xotk ■—“ We have lain m the same place the whole 
of to-day, partly on account of the misty weather, and partly 
because I wished to examine the remarkable geological condi¬ 
tions in the vicinity. The cliffs by the shore consist of a 
conglomerate of a type which I have not seen before m these 
regions, with volcanic tuff lying above it.” 

October nth .—“ Once moie a good long day’s march behind 
us—a day so rich in discoveries that it exceeds all that have 
gone before it. The mystery which has hitherto enshrouded 
the geography of this tract is now unveiled. We have passed 
through a magnificent channel* which separates the great 
island on which Mount Haddington lies, from the mainland. 
The only important question which still remains to be solved 
is whether this channel has any connection with Sidney 
Herbert Bay, and thus if the land to the east which we have 
passed be two islands or one, It is not impossible but that 
this may be so, and I hope to be able to solve the problem on 
our next sledge-expedition. 

“ The mist lay a long time in the morning and we could not 
start before io. The little four-cornered island proved to be 
of considerable extent towards the north-east when it falls 
precipitously towards the sea, with tower-like rocks of dark 


* This channel, which has been named aftei II.R.H. the Clown Tiince of Sweden, 
is of very gieaL interest in scientific respects, chiefly on the ground of the analogy it 
possesses with the deep depressions which, in many places in Patagonia, exist along 
the eastern slopes of the Cordilleras, and there separate the mountain-chain piopei 
from a more eastern highland which, as heie, is built up of volcanic locks and more 
recent sedimentary deposits. The cause of origin of this channel was probably 
essentially diffeient fiom those of the channels found on the west coast—the Orleans 
and the Gerlache Channels. I have named the laiger of the islands on the easL side 
of the channel after the discoverer of this coast—Ross Island, and the smaller one, 
Vega Island 



.THE CROWN PRINCE GUST At' CHANNEL 305 

basalt marked with led irregular patches. The north coast of 
the laige island was of about the same appearance as the 
paits we had previously seen, with numerous bays and com¬ 
paratively softly-rounded mountain-sides, often with brilliant 
colouring 

“ The ice was uneven and full of small frozen-in ice-blocks. 
I was not quite certain which was the most suitable direction 
for our march, but at the beginning I kept as much as possible 
to the north, and then lor a time towards the last cape visible 



Photo by] [N0BTJhS5KJClI;D. 

Wilhelm Carlson Island from the east f 

southwards, m the direction where I imagined Cape Gordon 
to be situated, but at last I turned definitely towards an 
island situated in the middle of the channel. We could 
already observe that the sea to the east lay open before us. 
During the afternoon we passed a narrow, deep bay, with 
Mount Haddington m all its magnificence in the background 
After a rapid march we came about 7 o’clock to the island 
just mentioned—a high and perfectly precipitous rock of red 
tuff with irregular narrow courses of basalt. Ice-petrels and 
gulls flew in flocks around our camp amongst the rocks of ice, 
in the last place where we should spend a night by ourselves.” 


20 




CHAPTER XX. 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 

The tvvelflh of Octobei--We meet with J Gunnai Andeifcson, Duse and Grunden 
on the ice—Brief sketch of thqii adventures—Oui match homewards thiough 
the channel to Sidney Heibert Bay—Difficult going—Auival at the station. 

The 12th October began like the preceding days with mist, 
but it was not difficult to see that this would soon be dispersed 
by the powerful rays of the sun. 

Whilst we sat taking our pemmican and coffee we began to 
speak of the arrangement of the latter part of our journey. 
North of us, and close at hand, lay the south coast of Louis 
Philippe Land, but I considered that if the journey was to be 
extended, Paulet Island should be the place we should make 
for. The ice lay smooth and unbroken as tar as we could see 
m that direction, but some thin, dark water-sky hinted that 
we should meet with open water further off m those tracts. 
To go far from the land without being in possession of even a 
canoe was to run a risk out of all proportion to what we 
might hope to gam , and, therefore, before deciding the 
question, I thought it best to make our way to the land nearest 
to the south of our present camping-place, where, from Cape 
Corry or Cape Gordon, there would be a prospect of obtaining 
an unobstructed view, and of judging of the condition of the 
ice farther to the south. 

It was manifest that the coast in question had not many 
points of resemblance to previously existing charts, and I did 
not yet know where the capes in question were situated. 
But at no very considerable distance I observed a well-marked, 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 307 

dark and prominent headland which attracted my attention 
each time I looked m its direction. It was as though a pre¬ 
monitory feeling told me that something important and 
remarkable awaited us there. So, without looking upon this 
short southward march as the beginning of our ]ourney home¬ 
ward, I determined to go first to this cape and then to con¬ 
tinue until I had gained some clear idea of the condition of 
the ice m the Erebus and Terror Gulf. 

We approach the southern strand, which rises high and 
precipitous, the lower rocks consisting of tuff with inclined 
stratification, whilst above there appear some perfectly hori¬ 
zontal banks of volcanic rock. J onassen says, pointing to the 
rocks, “ I suppose it is not possible that there can be a depot 
in there by the shore ? ” but I merely smile at the very idea. 

W r e soon reach the cape mentioned, and I imagine for a 
moment that I can catch a glimpse of something of an unusual 
appearance, but pay no further attention to it, when Jonassen 
speaks again : “ What’s that strange thing there close by 
the land ? ” I glance thither and say . “ Yes, it looks like 
men, but it can’t be, of course , I suppose it is some pen¬ 
guins ! ” and continue to march onwards. But Jonassen says 
at once : “ Hadn’t we better stay so that you can see what it 
is ? ” For the third time I look at the objects in question ; 
of a certainty they do look strange, and a feeling tells me that 
something of importance is there I take my field-glass. My 
hand trembles a little when I put it to my eyes, and it trembles 
still more when the first look convinces me that it is really 
men that I see ! I do not stop to see if they are two or three, 
or what they have with them, but hurry to put away the glass ; 
the sledge is turned and we hurry shorewards at a run. It 
becomes more and more apparent that it is two men on skis 
who are approaching us. I soon hear a faint cry, which I 
take to be an “ hurrah ! ” I do not answer, for the matter is 
as yet all too mystical for me, and I can now see so much that 
I mark the strangeness of the figures that are coining towards 
us. It cannot he that these two creatures are of the same race 
of men who were once my companions on board the Antarctic 

20* 



ANTARCTICA 


308 

Jonassen calls out something which I do not catch, but he 
afterwards told me it was a question whether I had not 
better take out my revolver m order to be prepared for all 
eventualities 

And what is it I at last see before me ? Two men, black as 
soot from top to toe ; men with black clothes, black faces and 
high black caps, and with their eyes hidden by peculiar wooden 
frames, which arc so attached to the face that they remind 
one of black silk masks with pierced pieces of wood for the 
eyes. Never before have I seen such a mixture of civilization 
and the extremest degiee of barbarousness ; my powers of 
guessing fail me when 1 endeavour to imagine to what 
lace of men these creatures belong. They hold out 
their hands with a hearty, “ How do you do ? ” m the 
purest English. “ Thanks, how are you ? ” was my 
answer. “ Have you heard anything of the boat ? ” 
they continue “ No ! ” “ Neither have we ! How do 

you like the station ? ” “ Oh, very well in every respect.” 

Then comes a moment’s pause, and I puzzle my brains 
without result. They are members of the Antarctic Expedi¬ 
tion, but still they know nothing of the vessel. A dim idea 
comes into my mind that I ought to ask who they arc, 
and why they are here. 

But we had not to wait long for an explanation. “ We 
tried to reach you last summer, but couldn’t , then we ex¬ 
pected to be fetched by the Antarctic, but have been obliged 
to winter m a stone-hut north of this place, and are now on our 
way to your station Don’t you know who I am ? ” “ No, 
it’s not very easy to recognise you! ” “ Oh, I’m Duse, and 
this is Gunnar Andersson ! ” 

Thus the riddle was solved. How often had I had waking 
and sleeping dreams of our first meeting with men from the 
outer world, and had wondered if they would remark any great 
difference in our appearance and manners when we once more 
came together with people who had not completely torn 
asunder the ties that bound them to civilization. But here 
it was I who was civilized, and these men were the savages, 




I.E. LasQl from a 'photograph. 




3 io ANTARCTICA 

reminding one of Australian aborigines, or some othei low 
race of human beings ! 

But there was still much to explain. “ Grundenis the third 
in our party , he is over there near the sledge and the tent; I 
suppose you’ll come there with us ? He is hard at work 
cooking.” And then came Jonassen’s turn to be greeted, 
aftei which we went t'owaids their tent, which could be seen 
from the edge of the shore, and ere many moments had 
elapsed we were welcomed with unfeigned joy by the fifth 
man m the company thus unexpectedly brought together. 

Leaving the dogs and sledge to take care of themselves a 
little while, we forgot everything for a moment to listen to the 
wonderful tale our friends related When the ice-conditions 
had shown themselves so difficult the preceding summer that 
they feared they would be unable to reach the station with 
the vessel, our friends here had left the Antarctic on the 29th 
December, in order to reach us by a sledge-journey over the 
ice This, too, had proved impracticable and they had been 
forced to return to their starting-point, where they awaited 
in. vain for the return of the Antarctic. At the beginning of 
March they had taken up their quarters in a winter-hut of 
stone. They had provisions for nine men for two months, 
but during the winter they had lived chiefly on seal- and pen¬ 
guin-meat, and had used blubber as fuel. Luckily they had 
been m no want of such supplies, but in all other respects they 
had lived under such conditions that we, who neither were, 
nor considered ourselves to be, pampered men, asked them in 
stupefied amazement how it had been possible for them to 
exist. And the one feeling that for a long tune overpowered 
all the others that possessed me was that of undivided 
sympathy for these men who had suffered so much for our 
sakes. 

We at once determined to stay for the night at Cape “ Well 
Met.” Our tent was pitched by the side of theirs. We 
hoisted the Swedish flag we had with us, and then we all 
partook of the food Grunden had prepared—the only thing 
that reminded us that the provisions had not been taken out 



AN UNEXPECTED MEETING. 


3 'i 


of the station-supplies being the soot-black colour of the 
sugar They showed us a big tin of home-made pemmican, 
consisting of fried seal-meat and seal-fat, which had been pre¬ 
pared especially for this journey “ It tastes no end good ! ” 
was their opinion of the dainty dish. 

In spite of the restless night we spent we were early afoot 
the next morning. After enjoying the best of health during 
the whole winter, both Duse and Grunden were now suffering 
from frostbitten feet, and were in great need of rest and 
medical help. This circumstance alone forbade all idea of 
continuing the expedition for the sake of further exploration— 
exploration which was all the more unnecessary as our com¬ 
panions had already become acquainted with the surrounding 
tracts, amongst other things observing open water so near to 
Cape Gordon that it became a question whether we could 
pass that headland with our sledge They had also discovered 
that the land on which we now were was a separate island, 
and that there really was a connection between Sidney Herbert 
Bay and the great bay I had seen on the nth October. We 
hoped to find a good route home by taking this way, which 
also promised to be one of interest in cartographical respects, 
and so we determined to return to the station by the road 
mentioned. 

It was also settled that we should not take back the whole 
of our equipment with us, but only so much as was absolutely 
necessary, leaving the most valuable of the remaining supplies 
at a depot in a sheltered spot near the shore. It was almost 
touching to see with what regret our comrades parted with 
things which had so long formed their chiefest treasures. 
Although the dogs had now to draw about 350 kilogrammes 
(772 lbs.), the pace soon began to be brisk. But when we 
swung round into the great bay we met with numerous ice¬ 
bergs and inequalities m the surface, and for a long time it 
seemed uncertain whether there really was any way out east¬ 
ward, but we found the channel behind a projecting cape, 
and pitched our tents with a free view eastwards along the 
sound, which, in the middle, expands to a rounded bight, 



312 


ANTARCTICA. 


turther sight outwards being prevented by a peculiar, low 
headland and some islands and hills. My diary can speak 
of the rest ol the journey . 

October 14 th ■—“ We were ready early the next morning, 
for we had to make the most of the fine weather, which could 
by no means be considered reliable. When we came down 
on to the sea-ice we saw the bay lying smooth and clear before 
us, and believed that all our difficulties were now overcome. 
But the snow grew deeper and deeper, and in the glorious 
sunshine we had, everything sank lower and lower, and ere 
long it grew heavy going on skis, even unburdened as we 
were I had never seen the like in these regions. The sledge 
was turned into a snow-plough; the dogs sank past tlieir 
bellies and oui party moved on at a snail’s pace, and we were 
at last obliged to give up all thoughts of going round Cape 
Gage, and tried instead to keep nearer in towards land, where 
the going proved quite as bad But since the increase oi our 
party everybody works with a light heart; we laugh at diffi¬ 
culties and joke at troubles, no one wishing to seem more 
iamtheaited than the others.” 

October 15 th —“ Our march was arranged m the same way 
as yesterday, Duse now helping the dogs to draw, whilst 
Andersson and I took as heavy loads as we could bear AVe 
had unheard-of labour, and even on skis one sank deep into 
the snow. But the farther we went the better giew the way, 
and at last wc could lay back our knapsacks on the slcclgc. 
Off Cockburn Island we saw open wafer quite near to us, 
and at Cape Gage we were hindered by a couple of very bad 
crevasses marked by a high wall of pressure-hummocks, which 
we managed to pass at great risk. A number of seals lay on 
the ice with their young, and while Andersson stood looking 
at one of these latter he was suddenly attacked from the rear 
by the mother It was only with difficulty that he could 
defend himself from the attack of the infuriated animal. 

“After safely passing the last hssure we found ourselves once 
more m the old well-known Admiralty Sound, with its com¬ 
paratively easy ice, but as it was still pretty heavy going, 






3'4 


ANTARCTICA 


and we did not wish to reach the station duimg the night, we 
camped once more and for the last time.” 

October 16 th. —“ We weie up early, and by eight o’clock we 
had breakfasted and begun our march It would seem as if 
in the sound here the wind must be stronger than elsewhere, 
as no snow remains on the ice. 

“ The march goes briskly, and we stop only twice during 
the remainder of the journey We come nearer and nearer 
to well-known tracts, and are able to point out to our com¬ 
panions the one remarkable place aftei the other in the 
vicinity o£ the station. At last a sharp eye can distinguish 
the dark outlines of our dwelling-house. Just hcie near the 
shore the sun has acted so powerfully that there is much 
water on the ice, but this does not delay us, and at last wc 
swing in over the last snow-banks towards the land I look 
at my watch ; it is between io and n , the same hour that 
our expedition left Sweden, two years ago to a day. 

“ At first everything is still and silent at the station Can 
it be possible that no one has noticed us ? All of a sudden wc 
hear a wild barking, and the home-staying dogs rush down 
to meet ns, but stop doubtfully at sight of the black, unknown 
figures Then out come our comrades running down towards 
the shore. Sobral is the first to catch sight of us, but Bodman 
gets down hist. Duse goes up to him and says, in English, 
1 How do you do ? ’ We see in Bodman’s face an indescri¬ 
bable astonishment mingled with doubtful uncertainty; one 
can mark how he is cudgelling his brains. c Very well, thank 
you,’ comes the slow answer. But Duse claps him heartily 
on the shoulder and says, but this time m Swedish, ‘ Don’t 
you know me ? ’ ‘ Why, of course, it’s Duse ! ’ And the 

greetings continue and a brief explanation of the situation is 
given, whilst I hasten to inform Sobral of the important news 
that peace is established between the Argentine Republic and 
Chili. And thus is completed the union between the two 
stations of Snow Hill and Hope Bay. 

“ What more shall I say of this day ? That it was cele¬ 
brated with a banquet need scarcely be mentioned; a dinner 




l * Axuiersson _Duae 

Our new-found comrades on then arrival at Snow Hill. 




ANTARCTICA 


316 

when we were seived with a dish I had never beiore tasted— 
roast emperor penguin. The bird had come walking past the 
station a few days before, and had been photographed and 
studied eie being killed to make a dish for the anniversary of 
our leaving Sweden. 

“ But before dinner great changes had taken place. All 
available photographic plates had been used to immortalize 
the newcomers, after which we dived deep down into our 
hiding-places; and, although we had previously thought 
ourselves poor in everything that went by the name of 
clothes, a fairly large supply of garments was soon at the dis¬ 
position of our friends. Then there was a great cutting of 
hair and washing, and a couple of hours changed the savages 
into ordinary civilized men. But however great the difference 
appeared to jus, I am | sure that none but the newcomers 
could appreciate and describe it as it should be.” 

In the following chapters Dr Andersson will describe the 
events which took place after the depaiturc of the Antarctic 
from our station and until the remarkable meeting with us on 
the ice oi Crown Prince Gustaf Channel. 



Part II. 

BY 

Dr. J. GUNNAR ANDERSSON, 

Dr. 0 . NORDENSKJOLD, C. J. SKOTTSBERG, 

AND 

CAPT, LARSEN. 


Of this part, Chapters I, to XIII., inclusive, are by Dr J. G. Andersson; 
Chapters XIV. to XVI. by Dr O. Nordenskjold, Chapteis XVII tc XXII, and 
Chapter XXIV., byC. J. Skottsberg, B.A.; Chapter XXIII., by Captain Larsen, 
and the concluding pages (Chapters XXV and XXVI.), by Dr. 0. Nordenskjold. 



'Jf/ 




sLol^. 






Photo hy] 


[S BlltCJ I’R 


CHAPTER 1 . 

TO THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 

From Guthenburg to Tort Stanley—With the Fait Rosamond along the south coast 
of the Falkland Islands. 

I left Gothenburg on the 17th 
January, 1902, for Port Stanley, 
via Edinburgh and Liverpool, in¬ 
tending to join the Expedition on 
its return to the Falkland Islands 
from its fiist visit to South Polar 
waters. I took the route I did in 
order to be able to meet Mr. Bruce, 
the leader of the intended Scotch 
Antarctic Expedition, who showed 
me every attention during my stay m Edinburgh. A night 
tram, not a very comfortable one, I must say, took me to 
Liverpool, and on the 23rd January I embarked on the 
Orellana , which became my home for the following month. 

A long ocean voyage of this kind always grows monotonous, 
but the tediousness is somewhat relieved when one can enjoy, 
as I did, lively intercourse with numerous and Interesting 
travelling companions of different nationalities. The calls 
the vessel made at different ports formed agreeable interrup¬ 
tions in the journey ; but at last, after leaving the quarantine 
station of Flores Island, outside Montevideo, where the pas¬ 
sengers who were going up to Buenos Ayres, or who meant to 

21 




322 


ANTARCTICA 


cross the Cordilleras to Chili, quitted the vessel, the Orellana 
steamed southwards towards my destination. The oppressive 
heat of the tropics was past, and the air felt cool and agreeable 
again 

Early on the morning of the 21st February I observed 
floating m the sea numerous branches of kelp (Macrocystis), 
which had been torn away from their place of growth, this 
giant seaweed being peculiar to the sub-antarctic region to 
which the Falkland Islands belong. And we soon descried in 
the distance the dun outlines of land, which grew gradually 
clearer and revealed rounded hills with slightly undulating 
lowland between them, the whole being of a sad, grey-brown 
colour, and perfectly free from woodland. On the eastern¬ 
most headland rose a lighthouse, which marks the entrance to 
Port Stanley. We had scarcely come near the coast than we 
experienced one of those sudden “ overfalls ” which are of 
almost daily occurrence here, and it was amid a howling 
tempest that the Orellana at length cast anchor in the harbour. 
As it would he almost another month ere the Antarctic 
could be expected from her first journey southwards, I made 
up my mind to carry out a scientific exploration of the 
group of islands, whose geology has remained almost un¬ 
touched since the “ thirties,” when Charles Darwin brought 
home the first fossils from these tracts. 

The country has for the stranger a by no means inviting 
appearance. The naked, rounded mountain ridges are 
bewilderingly alike ; the plains bear the gloomy stamp of 
lonely heaths, or steppes ; while the extensive mosses are 
treacherous bogs, in which more than one rider, uncertain 
of the path, has lost horse or even life itself. Across this 
land there sweeps almost continually a sharp, penetrating 
wind which often grows to a hurricane-like storm, or, maybe, 
turns to irritating gusts, when short glimpses of the sun are 
mingled every half-hour with noisy showers. 

And the little capital, too, does not look at all prepossessing , 
at the first glance. Out m the harbour lie quite a number of 
old hulks—wrecks which have been towed hither and are now 




21* 


The Antes ctu. in Cumbeiland Bay, 


324 


ANTARCTICA. 


used as floating warehouses. Amongst the goo inhabitants of 
Port Stanley there are, too, not a few whose histones are m 
some way connected with these dismantled vessels in the 
roads. Bold, careless seamen, Scandinavians many of them, 
they have been wrecked out here, or their badly damaged 
ship has been condemned, and now they go without wish or 
will to find their way home again, working on board the small 
coasting vessels, or looking for occasional ]obs, and m between 
whiles making pilgrimages from the one to the other of the 
six “ hotels ” m the town, in order to drown all reflections on 
life’s misery m a glass of whiskey. 

But the little town has also a body of industrious, 
energetic, settled inhabitants, m whom wc find the ability 
the Anglo-Saxon race has to adapt itself to unfavourable 
natural conditions, to combine for mutual amusement 
and to hold steadfastly to the customs of the mother 
country. 

During the winter the monotony of life is broken only by 
the arrival of the mail boats, once a month from Europe and 
once from the west coast of South America. All of “ the 
upper ten ” who can, usually spend that season somewhere 
else—in Buenos Ayres or in England. But at the commence¬ 
ment of the summer, the English station ships come down here 
from Montevideo, And then the hearts of the ladies of Port 
Stanley beat quicker m anticipation of invitations to the 
festive balls on board the men-of-war, and lines for the 
transmission of electric-power lor lighting purposes are laid 
from the cruiser to the “ Assembly Hall ” of the town, where 
the naval lieutenants and the maidens oi the place give private 
theatricals, and play pantomimes for appreciative audiences 
of the “ sisters, cousins and the aunts,” and other relatives 
and friends of the lady performers 

In a few days I had roamed through all the surroundings of 
the town, and then I wanted to go out to other islands of the 
group. I was afforded an excellent opportunity of doing so 
by the head of the principal and dominant business company, 
£ The Falkland Island Co.,” who proposed that I should go 




Port Stanley 






326 ANTARCTICA. 

to West Falkland on one of the company’s schooners as a 
guest. 

sjs Jk # * # # # 

The Fmr Rosamond lies at anchor for a clay in Seal 
Cove, on the south-east coast of East Falkland, waiting 
lor a fair wind. A heavy squall rolls in towards the bar 
that shelters the anchorage, and, coming to the outer 
edge of the rocks, flings itself skywards, to fall m a 
dazzlmgly white cascade and then glide onwards with 
diminished force across the shoals. In the smooth-rolling, 
even waves we see rising and falling close masses of yellow- 
brown leaves, which float on the surface, but are attached to 
the bottom by long, flaccid stems which can be fifty or sixty 
yards long, or more. This is the giant alga of the southern seas, 
the kelp, which m many places quite fills the sea for a mile or 
so from land, where the bottom is rocky and the water shallow. 
This giant amid ocean flora is so intimately connected with 
the pictuic of the Falkland coasts, that popular wit there has 
transferred the name to the inhabitants of the islands and 
calls them “ the helpers .” 

The bar extends from the shore to a tussock-clad island, 
which catches the eye even at a distance with its pleasant, 
light-green colour, and its slightly rounded surface covered 
with vegetation right down to high-water mark. The gigantic 
tussock grass grows m small crowded knolls, a metre or more 
across, which consist of a half-decayed mass of withered leaf- 
sheaths from which the fresh blades shoot up to a height 
of four or five feet. Small, irregular, winding paths run 
between these tussock-knolls, by means of which one can 
penetrate to the interior of the island. But caution is needed, 
for one can suddenly stand face to face with the lord of the 
tussock-forest—a stately sea-lion, who guards his wives, who 
are of much lesser size than he, with raging jealousy. lie 
shakes Ins mane, and roars angrily and with a savage bite is 
capable of maiming the invader in a terrible manner. 

When the first settlers came to Falkland, tussock grass grew 
on the main islands, too, but the sheep have destroyed it, so 



THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 327 

that in many parts it is replaced by fields of drifting sand. 
It is only on the small islands wheie there are no sheep, that 
this grass still thrives 

A little way from the shore, near the outer edge of the mass 
of kelp, swim a few stoutly built ducks (Tachyeres cmereus) 
On the approach of my boat they attempt to fly away, but, 
then wings being too shoit for flight, they flap along the 
surface of the water, which is beaten into foam by the short, 
sounding blows, and they leave quite a wake behind them. 



Photo &y] [1. W A.M 1 LHSSON 

Tussock-covered Island. Port Stephens 


This peculiar method of flight of theirs has procured them the 
name of “ steam ducks,” or “ steamers ” 

On one of the rocks left dry by the ebb-tide stands another 
picturesque pair of birds, the male perfectly white and the 
female with beautiful, brown markings. It is the kelp-goose 
(Chlaephaga hybnda), the most characteristic bird of the ebb- 
shore of the Falkland Islands. They go feeding phleg¬ 
matically amongst the small algie which grow between the 
wave-washed rocks and are not at all disturbed when I 
approach to photograph them. Fearlessness is a distinguish¬ 
ing feature of almost the whole of the rich bird-world of 
these islands. 




328 ANTARCTICA 

Up on the slope of the shore lies a flock of the exceedingly 
natty, red-billed and red-legged Scorcsby gull {Lcucophaus 
scoresbn). The biids feel as secure as pigeons do in the streets 
of a city , they rise and trip away if one comes quite close to 
them, but lie down again immediately 

In a little lagoon swim some coveys of a small species of duck, 
and a number of land geese nibble the fine juicy grass on the 



Photo Vy] [J. <*• Akimhssov 

A shore picLure from the FallUands, with a pair of kelp gee&e (Chlocphayit 

hyht ida). 

Off the shore can be seen a band of the floating masses of leaves of the 
kelp [Macroiysti r). 

low, flat shore of the lake. Into the midst of this idyllic scene 
come the sailors with their fowling-pieces ; the ducks take 
wing at the first discharge, but the geese are calmer, and first 
move a little to one side and then come back to look at their 
fallen companions. A couple of swans out in the bay, watchful 
and shy in their proud loneliness, are stalked by the seamen, 
but the birds always preserve a safe distance between them¬ 
selves and their pursuers, and at last they fly off in earnest and 
disappear behind the land. 



THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 


329 


Aftei studying the bud- and insect-life on the shoie I take a 
turn inland The gloomy and deseit landscape consists of 
slopes and narrow valleys spaisely clad with glass, of hilly 
mooiland, clothed with crowbeny (Empetrum rubtum ), and 
foimmg a low-lying plain coveied with a bewildenng mono¬ 
tony of small 1 ldges. Here and there I come across a flock of 
sheep, and lonely couples of the great land-goose (Chlo phaga 
magellamca) From a hill, which is a little higher than the 



Photo by] 


[J G \.:nderhso:s 

Group of gulls, {Leucophccus scot esbii). 


others, I have, as I suppose, a view over half the southern 
portion of East Falkland. Far away m the north, the 
rounded ridges of Wickham Heights rise to a height of 700 
metres (2,300 feet), their tops lightly powdered with new 
fallen snow; westwards and southwards I catch a glimpse 
of the sea, whose long narrow bays rim far into the land 
Farthest away in the outer line of water lies a multitude 
of smaller islands, around which the waves break m snow- 
white foam. 

In the middle of the desert plain stands a little shepherd’s 



33° 


ANTARCTICA. 


hut. A cage ol iron wire to keep mutton in, a cabbage garden 
surrounded by a stone wall, a rail to which the horses are 
fastened, and a heap of turf, constitute all that is to be seen— 
around it there is nothing else than the empty, rolling plain 
The shepherd comes to meet me whilst I am still a long way 
off, and asks me in. He is overjoyed when I give him a little 
tobacco, of which he has long been m want, and his wife offers 
me newly-stramed milk and fresh wheaten bread. While I 
sit talking with these good folk, their half grown-up son 
comes riding to the cottage He was born out here and is a 



Photo &y] [j a. axdeiissok 

Aich Island 

genuine helper. He knows his parents’ Highland home only 
by heai say j he has not yet been as far as Port Stanley, but 
he has seen the Falkland Company’s schooners in the nearest 
harbours, North Arm and Port Darwin, and once, a man-of-war 
at anchor off Lively Island Pie knows horses and can sit 
fast in the saddle, is master of three sheep dogs, knows all 
the fords m the “ camp,” and can make riding-whips with 
artistically twisted thongs. 

* * * * * * * 

Fair Rosamond’s trip began to grow a long one, and the 
Antarctic was expected every day at Port Stanley, so that I 
was anxious to reach Fox Bay in older to be able to return 



THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 


33i 


to the capital by the mail schooner Estrella. It is true that 
I could reach Port Stanley by a couple of days’ riding across 
country from Port Stephens where we now lay, but I still 
lelt inclined to stay on board the Rosamond a few days longer, 
in order to see a little more of the enticing geology of West 
Falkland. But an unexpected occurrence rendered all further 
plans about the matter quite unnecessary. While we lay at 
anchor m the last-mentioned harbour, I was awakened on the 
morning of the 18th by the captain’s going up on deck The 
schooner was rolling in a way that was simply amazing when 
we consider that she lay in a bay completely sheltered from 
the open sea. I could hear how the waves rolled past the 



Photo 1 1 /] [J G Andlrsson. 

A pari of the coast outside I’oit Stephens. 

vessel’s side, the wind whistled through the rigging, and a 
heavy ram came pelting down, while hurried footsteps and 
commands were heard from the deck. At half-past four there 
came some short, hard blows which shook the whole vessel, 
and this was repeated with each sea that struck us. There 
was no room for doubt; both anchors had dragged, and the 
schooner now lay bumping upon the stones on the shore. It 
was still half-dark when I came up on deck. I fancy that 
I have experienced pretty severe storms both in the Arctic 
waters and on the west coast of Sweden, but they were nothing 
to the one that now raged. To windward there could be seen 
only the boiling smoke from the sea, out of which came rolling 
the waves that washed far over the piers, while foam and frag¬ 
ments of kelp flew far inland. 





332 


ANTARCTICA 


The Fair Rosamond was now m a sad plight. She creaked 
and groaned in the stern embrace of the 1 breakers, and 
lurched violently m between the seas, now towards the land 
and again to starboard and the bay. Meanwhile the day broke, 
and the people of the settlement began to awake Mr. Hennah, 
manager at the place, came down to the shore, and we 
managed to get a line on land, and the storm showing no signs 
of abating,! determined to endeavour to get ashore by the aid 



Photo &y] 


[J. a. ANHIvHHSON. 

The Fair Rosamond aftei the storm. 


of the rope I secure my diaries, the glass-tubes with the 
insects, and a couple ot boxes of photographic plates about 
my person, buttoning my jacket above these treasures, and 
begin to climb down towards the land ; but the rope bends 
beneath my weight, and my progress is as much in the water 
as out of it, so that I reach the shore in a somewhat wretched 
condition. But the jacket has held, and my plates and diaries 
are saved. 

The change from misery to comfort was sudden and com¬ 
plete, and after a change of clothes I soon found myself sitting 





TIIK FALKLAND ISLANDS. 


333 


in Mr. Hennali’s parlour m front of a glimmering tint fire on 
the open heai tli Tlic storm is still howling outside, but the 
first glimpses oi the sun come peeping into the room through 
a conscrvatoiy filled with the most magnificent flowering 
ornamental plants, while Miss Lucie, the golden-haired 
daughter of the house, plays a lew sweet melodies for me, and 
I leel myself surioundcd by the peace ol a good and hospitable 
home. 

I had now i o make my way overland to Fox Bay. Mr. 
Iiennali, my helpful host, arranged the matter [or me, and on 
the 21st 1 commenced the journey with his brother-in-law, 
Mr Dickson, as my guide, and on the altcrnoon of the 
following day we arrived at my destination, where I at once 
made, my way to Mr. Hurst, the Chief Constable of West 
Falkland, I' told my story in a few words, and said that I 
had come to the place m order to wait for the mail boat, the 
Estrella. “ Can you let me stay with yon till she conics ? ” 
was the conclusion of my speech. 

Mr. Hurst looked a little dubious. 

“ Won’t you have a cup of tea ? ” he said. 

“ Thanks,” 1 replied, “ but I should like to know at once, 
as my guide is wailing outside and means to return as soon 
as lie knows I have a roof over my head.” 

Mr. Hurst asked me once more to take tea, but on my 
earnest entieaty he went to take counsel of his wife. Two 
minutes later the matter was arranged, and during the six 
days I stayed at Fox Bay I was treated with the warmest 
hospitality by these amiable people. Their youthful son 
Robeit accompanied me almost every day on my excursions. 
He was a lively, intelligent lad, whose love of country was 
inspiring and noble. He devoured histories of England, and 
those of the later militaiy expeditions in India and the Soudan, 
and he knew by heart the greater part of the vessels on the 
Navy lists. We disputed the whole day long about the war 
in South Africa; he was a full-bloodecl imperialist, whilst I 
was a pro-Boer, but still we grew greater friends every day. 

One day wc made a discovery which much interested both 



334 


ANTARCTICA. 


of ns, for m the fine laminated sandstone found here every¬ 
where along the low edges of the shore, we discovered numerous 
fossils of the same Devonian marine types as those discovered 
m East Falkland by Darwin m the “ thirties.” In addition 
to the species occurring m Darwin’s collection we found 
several new ones, and amongst others a trilobite, a now 
extinct animal form related to the crustaceans In order to 
give Bob an idea of the nature of the find I told lum that it 
was a lobster. That lobsters live m the sea was for lum 
merely an absti act idea ; his experience had taught him only 
that they occur m tins, and now when he found that they 
could be procured from sandstone too, there were no bounds 
to his delight 

The Estrella came on the 27th March. When she left Port 
Stanley two days before, the Antarctic had not yet arrived, but 
was expected every hour. I stood expectantly on deck when 
the Estrella, on her return, approached the narrow entrance 
to the harbour. Would the Antarctic lie there with weighty 
news from South Polar waters, or should I be obliged to wait 
m the town without the possibility of undertaking excursions 
of any length The schooner glides past the concealing 
rocks on the shore. And see ! There she lies ; easily recog¬ 
nisable by her lolly rig and the white crow’s-nest. The wind 
is dead against us, but with a rapid tack or two the Estrella 
comes abreast of the Antarctic and rushes past her bows. On 
her deck stands a group of old friends waving a greeting 
towards me. I see Larsen’s broad, steady figure, the tall slim 
form of Skottsberg ; there are Karl Andreas Andcrsson and 
my old comrades from the voyage of the Antarctic in North 
Polar Seas—Ohlm and Haslum. 

Scaicely has the Estrella dropped anchor than the Antarctic’s 
pram comes alongside with Andreasen, the hrst mate, to fetch 
me on board. His Norwegian words of greeting sound like a 
real welcome from home to one who has been speaking nothing 
but English for the last two months. I soon climb over the rail 
of our vessel, and am at once wrapped in Larsen’s hearty 
embrace. From all sides come my old friends crowding round 



THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 


33S 


me, and behind them stand a couple of men -whom I 
do not know. The short one is the American painter, 
Stokes, now on his way home; the other, a big, powerfully- 
built figure, blonde of complexion, and with a pretty luxuri¬ 
ant beard, who speaks to me m Swedish This is Lieutenant 
Duse, the cartographer of the Expedition, who joined the 
Antarctic at Falmouth, and with whom, therefore, I am not 
acquainted 

Now I am overwhelmed with news from the south. Nor- 
denslqold and his live companions have been put ashore at 
Snow Hill, that is, quite near to Seymour Island, where 
Larsen found the first Antarctic fossils m 1893. And this 
promises well for the geological work But look! Here 
they show me on every side fossils which have been found 
at the station itself, at Snow Hill! They are magnificent 
ammonites, clearly belonging to the Cretaceous formation, 
and are thus a perfectly new find from South Polar regions. 

Then I sec scientific treasures of all descriptions. Skotts- 
berg shows me the most magnificent algae from the Ant¬ 
arctic Ocean, and Karl Andreas Andersson tells me that off 
Seymour Island he re-found one of the greatest rarities of 
ocean zoology, that peculiar animal, the Cefthalodiscus, 
which was discoveied in 1875 by the Challenger Expedition, 
but which has never been seen again until this occasion. 
Duse describes a voyage along the north-west coast of Louis 
Philippe Land, which was a remarkable one in cartographical 
respects, and Larsen tells me how the Antarctic was nearly 
lost on her return journey northwards during a violent 
storm off the South Shetlands. 

It is with wonder, and perhaps a little envy, that I look at 
these men who have made such important finds in their first 
summer campaign m the South Polar Ocean, and who have 
gone through the most imminent deadly perils with unim¬ 
paired vivacity of spirits. And when they told me now, too, 
that the Antarctic had filled her coal bunkers at Ushuaia, and 
that, although the winter was at hand, they intended to start 
at once for a cruise off South Georgia, I felt proud and happy 



336 ANTARCTICA. 

to become one of the circle, to work amongst them and to 
share their fate. 

Now followed some days of hurried labour. The ship’s 
carpenters in the service of the Falkland Company repaired 
the damage the Antarctic had suffered during the great storm ; 
the collections were packed up and sent ashore to be kept till 
we returned, and we finished some extensive correspondence. 
Our free hours were devoted to social intercourse. The hos¬ 
pitable homes of the little town were always open to us, and 
the officers of the English war vessels—the cruiser Cambrian 
and the gunboat Basilisk —paid us every possible attention, 
even promising to add a special “ Antarctic-song ” to the 
pantomime they were getting up with the Port Stanley ladies, 
if only we would stay till the day of performance 

But on the morning of the nth April everything was ready 
for our departure, and at io a.m the Antarctic weighed anchor 
and steamed round the men-of-war with lowered flag, whilst 
the Swedish national air was heard from the deck of the 
Cambrian. The men of the English barque, the Cypromcne, 
hurrahed when we passed, and the girls of Port Stanley waved 
a last farewell as we sailed away on our winter journey. 




Pholo hy ] [J. 0 Akdcmsok 

They vvcie game, both of them. Motive fiom Royal Bay. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE FIRST DAYS IN THE LAND OF THE SEA-ELEPHANTS. 

South Georgia—Our fiisl days in Ihe land of Lhe sea-elephants—A visit to Royal Bay 
*—Glaciei movement. 

We were now in the sea oi the western winds. The weather 
changed from storm to calm, but the Antarctic’s canvas was 
almost continually filled with a favourable wind which daily 
carried us nearer our distant goal to the east On the 31st, 
our reckoning made us out to he in the neighbourhood of 
South Georgia, but heavy banks of fog hindered the view in 
the direction of the land. 

When I came on deck at seven o’clock the next morning 
the horizon around us was clear. The huge, fleece-edged 
waves gleamed a deep-blue in the morning-light as they 
came rolling on towards the ship; the breeze was bitingly 
cold, but it brought the freshness of winter with it. South- 

22 


338 ANTARCTICA. 

wards, a magnificent Alpine country, illumined by the 
rising sun, rose slowly from the sea ; there were mighty fells 
with snowy crowns and with sharp, uncovered teeth, around 
the valleys through which enormous, broad rivers of ice came 
flowing to the sea. 

Far away in the west rose some solitary peaks above the 
sky-line They might possibly be precipitous islands , they 
could, too, be united by lower stretches of land at present 
hidden beneath the horizon. To starboard, but far to the 
southwards, we saw a continuous wall of mountains where 
three mighty glaciers shot out into the sea, while straight 
before us lay a broad, open bay, towards which we steered 
whilst spying around us for a suitable field of work, and to 
the south-east, that is to larboard, we noticed another large 
fiord (the farther end of which received a broad glacier) By 
degrees we came so near that the lower land, too, became 
visible. In most places the coast consisted of a low, perpen¬ 
dicular shore, shaped by the breakers. But above this 
precipitous line one could see almost everywhere on the 
hill-slopes a verdant border, evidently overgrown with that 
giant product of sub-Antarctic regions—the tussock grass. 

The bay before us was continued inwards by a broad, 
flat, snow-free dale, around which the land rose towards 
precipitous white-topped mountains. In the north-west of 
the hay we observed several tussock-clad islands, and the 
whole picture was a very inviting one. But suddenly there 
was a change in the colour of the water, which all at once 
became of a yellow-white tint, and struck the captain as 
being very suspicious. And with the aid of a glass we 
could see rocks and belts of kelp m front of us, so we 
turned as quickly as we could and steamed south-east¬ 
wards, along the coast, away from these dangerous banks 
and reefs, towards the nearest large fiord. 

Hitherto the English rough sketch-map had not allowed 
of our positively identifying what we had seen of the 
land, but scarcely had we entered the new bay than 
Larsen recognized the place from his visit to South Georgia 





"West T&ay 


V 

260m,. fl „ 

■ \ 


/'■ I 




Sketcii-niap 

of 

Cumberland Bay, 

Soixlli Georgia, 


Mmuremmts given, vv 
mtits caul ULmetra 
1 metre - /, 0936 yards 
iforu “ i093,6 a 


(h 1 








^c~~> 











THE LAND OF THE SEA-ELEPIIANTS. 339 

in 1894. This large fiord was Cumberland Bay, and in its 
western aim our captain had lain at anchor with the Jason, 
in a little bay into which we now steered and which we after¬ 
wards called Jason Haibour. 

It was already twilight when the Antarctic came to anchor, 
This first evening in South Georgia was wonderfully beautiful, 
and I stood long on deck, listening to the hollow, grating 
thunder of the waves which was carried back to us through 



Map oE South Gooigia. 

the still night; echoed from the frame of hills around the bay, 
with rise and fall, and measured pause amidst the booming ; 
made mysterious by the darkness that wrapped in the shore. 
Out in the bay played the glistening moonlight, but we lay 
in the darkness cast by the mountain wall which, in this 
peculiar distance-destroying chiavo oscuro, seemed to rise 
directly above our heads, 111 deepest black at the water’s 
edge, but with the shimmer of faintly-lighted slopes of snow 
about the highest ridges whose outlines stood sharply lined 
against the blue expanse above. 


22 * 




34° 


ANTARCTICA. 


And when I came on deck the next day and saw the 
fells, mysterious in night, clad in the sunny light ot morn¬ 
ing, I was seized by a strong and strange feeling thai I 
heic stood in the presence of Nature m an aspect that was 
entirely new to me. 

>}< Jc sfs # H* 

On the previous day when I had examined the coast of 
South Georgia at a distance, with its snowy peaks and mighty 
streams of icc, I was at once reminded of certain parts of 
the north coast of Spitzbergen, but now, when I had a piece 
of South Geoigian scenery close at hand, it at once became 
evident that the similarity existed only in the general features 
of the landscape. Mountains and fiords follow each other 
in the same way, but the fells of South Georgia rise in most 
places precipitously from the coast to almost inaccessible 
ridges. This island, situated m lat 54 0 S., has glaciers and 
rivers of ice as large as those of Spitzbergen, m lat 8o° N. 

This, our first day of work m South Georgia (23rd April), 
corresponded to the same part of the month of October in 
the northern hemisphere, i.c., a season of the year when the 
northern part of Spitzbergen already lies buried in winter 
cold and darkness. Here the sun shone down, not only on 
snow-mantled mountains, but also on sloping shores, verdant 
with a rich growth of tussock grass ; a hundred brooks 
rippled down the steeps and filtered through thick beds 
of moss ; here and there a beetle or a little black spicier 
could be seen in the sunshine, hurrying out irom under a 
stone, and some pools of fresh water which our zoologists 
examined, swarmed with small crustaceans and water-beetles. 
The higher orders of plants had ceased blooming long ago, 
but in other respects the landscape had quite a summer-like 
appearance. 

During the course of the day we roamed in little parties 
around the bay, and when we met on board in the evening 
we were all much satisfied with the results of the day’s work. 
But m spite of the twilight having fallen, one party went 
ashore again, lor, during the course of the day, a couple of 




Photo tfl P a A.’VPI'MSQN- 

They were awakened from indolent rero->e. (Full grown sea elephants ) Motive from 
. Cumberland Bay 




34 2 


ANTARCTICA. 


full-grown sea-eleplrants had been discovered resting at then- 
ease m some flattened tussock-grass, a few yards from the 
shore and directly m front of the spot where we lay at anchor 
It was now the intention to kill these monsters, and, as we 
meant to preserve both skin and skeleton of one of them, 
we wished to drive lnm right down to the shore before shooting 
him. A marksman was left near the water’s edge and we 
went up into the grass with our pockets full of stones in 
order to awaken the sleeping giant. He looked like an 
enormously huge, shapeless sack, or a dark, rounded rock, 
and only his heavy snoring betrayed that he was a living 
creature We began our stone-throwing m order to put 
more life into him. At first he only turned lazily a little 
to one side, but when the stones came flying thickly about 
lus head he grew irritated With head uplifted and with 
wide-opened mouth, he puffed up his nose till it became a 
long snout which bore a faint resemblance to an elephant’s 
trunk, and, uttering an angry, deep, trumpeting sound, 
he cast himself a couple of yards forward with unwieldy 
movements towards the most troublesome of his assailants. 
But when our supply of stones came to an end and we went 
down to the shore for a fresh one, he lay impotently down 
again. 

At last we managed to start him, and he dragged himself, 
with clumsy jerlangs of the heavy body, through the tussoclc- 
grass, down the sloping shore. Shot now followed shot in 
rapid succession, but, though wounded, he managed to rush 
into the water and escape. 

The hunters then turned their attention to the other 
elephant, and a wild and peculiar scene was played in the 
midst of the darkness, what with the savage roaring* of the 
animal, the eager shouting of the men and the shooting, and, 
finally, the gurgling noise from the dying animal when the 
streaming blood threatened to choice him. The difficulty of 
aiming surely in the darkness and our ignorance of the right 
spot to hit in the animal’s head, protracted the death-struggle 
of the poor animal to a horrible degree. A few weeks later 



THE LAND OF THE SEA-ELEPHANTS 


343 


on, when our hunters had grown accustomed to this kind of 
hunting, they could nearly always kill the animal with a 
single ball. 

The following clay the capricious South Georgian weather 
showed herself m another guise. Large, wet snow-flakes 
fell m quantities, and during the course of the day the lower 
slopes wore also covered with snow. 

The ground-plan of our work in South Georgia now lay 
clear before us. From what we could sec by our two days’ 



Fhoto by] [0. TiitO'iV 

Amphipod, 

South Geoigia. Entrance to Cumberland Bay. 
135—168 fatlr. Mud bottom. 

One and a-half times enlaiged. 


reconnoitring, there was a most attractive field of work for 
us here in Cumberland Bay. On the headland that pro¬ 
jected between the two principal arms of the great fiord, 
a party was to be put ashore in order to prosecute carto¬ 
graphical, geological and biological work for at least a week, 
while the Antarctic undertook dredgings along the coast. 
But before putting the programme into execution, we deter¬ 
mined to carry out another investigation. 

South-east of, and not far distant from, Cumberland Bay 
lies another, lesser fiord, Royal Bay, where a German scientific 




344 


ANTARCTICA. 


station earned out its labours during the international obser¬ 
vation years, 1882-3. The originator of this scientific under¬ 
taking, the aged but always enthusiastic zealot for the ex¬ 
ploration of the South Polar regions, Professor Neumayer of 
Hamburg, had begged us to visit the German station, if 
possible, and examine the present condition of the buildings, 
and as other and scientific reasons also made us wish to under¬ 
take this trill to Royal Bay, we determined to do so before 
the first-named exploration-party went ashore 



Photo Inj] [(' A. LAMIN’. 

Dwelling house of the Geiman station. Koyal Bay. 


A severe storm prevented us putting into the place in 
question before the 27th, when wc anchored in Moltlto Hafen , 
the Germans’ “ harbour ”—a perfectly open, unprotected bay. 
The following day we had a westerly storm again and snow- 
hurricanes, so that it was not till the 29th came with calm, 
sunny weather, that we could manage to land. Lai sen and 
I walked along the north shore of the bay to the German 
station, where we found the dwelling-house in a pretty good 
condition. In one of the rooms we found on the wall a note 
that the whalers Castor and Hertha had called here in April, 




THE LAND OF THE SEA-ELEPHANTS. 345 

1894. In another part of the house we found some forgotten 
vegetable food, the greater pail of which, however, had been 
spoiled by damp and mould. The astronomical and magnetic 
observatories weie m a very bad state, with the roofs blown 
off by the wind, and one of the buildings half destroyed. 



The dotted lines show the giadu.il reUeal of the glacier, 20 years ago, as measured 
by the German Expeditions, 


In another part of the bay, Duse was occupied with an 
interesting investigation. In consequence of the results of 
a series of measurements made during their stay, the German 
scientists had come to the conclusion that the area of the 
glaciers within the southern hemisphere was now diminishing. 
Duse’s examination resulted in the discovery that the perfteti- 






34-6 


ANTARCTICA. 


dicular termination of the Ross glacier —on the retreat of 
which the Germans had based their theory— now (29th 
April, 1902) lay somewhat beyond the outermost of the 
positions observed by the German scientists , proving that 
after the minimum of August 1883, there must have 
occurred a new and mighty extension of the glacier. 




Photo hy\ [J e, ANDlRSbOI,. 

The old cenlru-boaid boat at Boiler Bay. 

CHAPTER III. 

TENT LIFE AND BOAT EXPEDITIONS. 

Tenl life and boat expeditions—Discovery of a boat and boileis—An Antarctic 
grave-yaid—A dangerous adventure—Return to Cumberland Bay. 

It was amid calm sunshiny weather on the morning of the 
rst May that we steamed back into Cumberland Bay, whose 
waters, but lately whipped into foam by violent squalls and 
storms, now lay unstirred by wind. The Antarctic moved 
onwards towards the precipitous cape that lies between the 
two great arms of the fiord, where a valley on the western 
side of the headland enticed us with the luxuriant growth of 
tussock grass upon its slopes. Oil the top of the fell that 
separated this valley from the southern arm of the firth, our 
cartographer should be able to obtain an unobstructed view 
of the system of fiords ; inland along the valley the way 
seemed open for fairly extensive excursions, and the shore of 
a little hay at the embouchure of the valley seemed to promise 
us good camping ground. 




ANTARCTICA. 


348 

We are four in number—Duse, Skottsberg and I, and a 
Falkland lad named Andrew, who has been engaged'for this 
South Georgian trip. Wc low towards the bay just men¬ 
tioned, while the Antarctic steams out to sea again. The roar 
of the breakers comes louder and louder from a point where 
we can descry a tower-shaped rock near the mouth of the 
bay. Our boat glides past the belt of kelp near this point, 
and we see a little creek with a low pebbly shore—an ideal 
boat harbour—and we row in through the giant sea-weed which 
almost closes the entrance. Inside, the water is like a mirror, 
and when wc lean over and look down into its depths, we see 
on the rocky bottom some of the most richly-coloured dwellers 
of the sea • pink algie, which grow like a crust-like covering 
on the stones ; dark-red algse, with most graceful leaf-forms, 
and great orange-coloured sea-stars. Near the boat a sea- 
leopard sticks his long, narrow, lizard-like head out of the 
water, while on the shore in front of us lie two or three lazy 
fellows oi his race, sunning themselves m the vicinity oi a 
little brook that ripples and glitters across the gravel on the 
beach. 

As soon as our things are landed and the boat is drawn up 
on the shore, Duse ascends the nearest liill in order to begin 
his mapping, taking Andrew with him as his assistant, while 
Skottsberg and I put the camp in order. We raise the tent 
near the brook, the sea-lcopaids waking at the unusual noise. 
They peer craftily at us, roll a little while backwards and 
forwards, and then glide lithely away lor a lew yards, there to 
fall again into their lethargic repose. We put up a little tent 
to be used as a store-room for the instruments and collections. 
The provisions are collected into a heap, which we cover 
with a tarpaulin, and then we set to work to get the large tent 
in order The time goes quickly with all these preparations, 
and the short winter day is already at an end when we sit 
down to dinner, and as we drink our coffee m the dusk we 
empty a glass of punch in honour of May Day, and christen 
our cosy little harbour, “ May Cove.” 

The next morning all ol us left the camp at an early hour, 




The west shore of May Cove, 




35° 


ANTARCTICA. 


Duse, Skottsberg and Andrew going up the sharp mountain 
ridge ]ust above the camp, to which I afterwards gave the name 
of Mount Duse. I myself went up the valley, m order to see 
how far we could extend our excursions in that direction. I 
found a couple of small frozen lakes quite close to our camping- 
ground, the second and larger of them being an expansion of 
a fairly large river flowing into May Cove I found traces 
eveiywhere of a former ice-c.ovenng, with moraine-gravel and 
beautifully scored glacier-stones, which proved that an im¬ 
mense mass of ice had once filled the entire valley, and I 
consequently called the place Bore Valley 

The river I mentioned fell in a foaming cataract over a 
pretty high precipice, and when I climbed the rock I caught 
sight of a third lake, which lay free from ice and was much 
larger than the other two. A little beyond this lake the valley 
seemed to form a mountain pass, on the other side of which 
there was probably a descent to the, as yet, invisible lower- 
lying land. Eager to sec if our region of investigation could 
be extended in that direction, I made my way up to the top 
of tlie pass, and was much astonished by what I saw from that 
point. Towards the south, that is, towards the interior of the 
island, lay an extensive system of valleys, the highest part of 
which were as yet partly invisible to me, whilst far to the 
south-south-east lay a large stretch o [ water where floating blocks 
of glacier ice contrasted sharply with the deep-blue surface 
At first I supposed that this could be nothing else than a large 
lake, but on climbing some distance up Mount Duse in order 
to obtain a better view, I soon perceived my mistake. Cum¬ 
berland Bay penetrated the land m various directions to a 
much greater extent than I had hitherto imagined, and the 
water X had just seen belonged to an arm ol the fiord, which 
was almost separated from the main bay by an immense ter¬ 
minal moraine. Here, too, there were traces of a former ice¬ 
covering ; traces on such a large scale and so unusually clear 
that, in spite of the great distance, I at once fully perceived 
the importance of this remarkable evidence. 

But if my geologist’s heart beat more quickly than usual 




May Cove and Mt. Duse. 





ANTARCTICA. 


352 

when I first caught view of “ Moraine Fiord,” it grew more 
than calm when, on going a little further down the slope, I 
stopped for a moment in breathless wonder before a most 
astonishing sight. Close under the mountain nepl a little bay 
I had not seen be.foie, with a low point shooting out between 
it and the main fiord, and—nmv comes the strange part of the 
story—on this point, and drawn up some distance horn the 
shore, lay a large green-painted bant. The. boat had evidently 
lain there many years, for the tussock grass grow high and 
close around it. it was a large undecked e.cnti('-hoard boat, 
thirty feet long and eleven feet wide, almost too large to have 
been brought here as a deck-boat on hoard a vessel, bill yet 
too small to have sailed alone here to this stormy coast. 

The boat was not the only trace I found of human beings. 
On the edge of the shore lay a heap ol bricks, and near the boat 
was a large pan, or boiler, of cast-iron, in which lay some large 
pieces of sealskin. Nearer the water lay six more boilers 
of the same description, and on one of them I read (he mark : 

Johnson & Co. 

W—ping Dock, 

London. 

In consequence of this find I gave the place the name of 
Boiler Bay. 

In May Cove, too, we found traces of the former presence of 
man. Just above the mouth of the river which came from the 
ice-free lake mentioned above, wc found a grotto in the preci¬ 
pitous wall of the cliff. This cavern, whose mouth is partly 
concealed by a bank covered with tussock-grass, consists of 
an exterior chamber 65 feet long by 26 feet wide, with a 
narrow passage running 16 feet inwards in an oblique direc¬ 
tion. In this cave we found the remains of two camp-fires, 
a cork, a tin can, a bit of leather, and the bones of the animals 
which had been eaten bj? the inhabitants of the place. 

A few days later Skottsberg and I found a number of whalers’ 
graves at the south side of our bay. It was a pretty little 




23 


\ oung male sea elephant Cumberland Ba] 





356 


ANTARCTICA 


appearance as, with most solemn mien, they came marching 
towards us like a patrol with the corporal at its head. 

We made a bed of tussock-grass in the bottom of the boat, 
but ielt the boards pretty plainly the whole nigh!., and one of 
the company vowed that he would never lie in that boat again. 

The following morning we ascended the mountain above 
our camp, and obtained a magnificent view towards the gi eat 
glacier of West Fiord (the Neumayer glacier), a view that 
enticed us to plan a journey on the ice in the event of the 
Antarctic not returning within the next few days, 



Photo by] 


[J, (1 ANDTHHflON 

Floating pieces of glaciei-icc in Moraine Fioid. 


While Duse continued his cartographical labouis up on the 
fell which we had ascended first, Skottsberg and I went across 
the broad, kettle-shaped valley and up to a pass 1,360 feet 
high, from whence, to our great astonishment, we had an 
unobstructed view far over Bore Valley to Moraine Fiord 
and the inner part of South Fiord 
But during our ascent of the pass we had seen between the 
mountains far away in the west a large sheet of water, with 
small floating icebergs, and a belt of kelp at the entrance, 
which greatly reminded us of our earliest view of Moraine 






358 


ANTARCTICA. 


Fiord. On Slcottsberg’s climbing a little way up the mountain 
slope above the pass, he found that what we had seen was two 
small arms of the fiord, perfect copies in miniatuieof Moraine 
Fiord, separated from each other by a moraine-formed point, 
and from West Fiord by a submarine reef, whose position wa.o 
marked by the rows of kelp which stretched between the 
extreme points of the arms of the small bays. Into these 
bays flow two streams of ice which I have called the Lyell and 
Gielae glaciers. 

While we were sitting near the boat at dinner, with some 
penguin-soup m front of us, we saw the. Antarctic far away by 
the opposite shore slowly entering the bay. After dark we 
made a big bonfire of seal-blubber and dry tussock-grass, 
in order to signal our whereabouts to the vessel, which was 
now anchored m Jason Harbour, and ere long a lantern was 
soon hoisted m answer to our fire. 

The next morning, as wc were anxious to finish our explora¬ 
tion of the interior of the fiord, we stuck a pole in the gravel 
with a short note fastened to it, informing Captain Larsen of 
our plans, and then continued our boat journey along the 
shore. The morning was sunny and calm, and it was easy 
work rowing, so that we soon arrived at the moraine-point 
between the two small bays, and two hours later Duse had 
finished his cartographical labours in West Fiord, and we 
were ready to start lor Jason Harbour. 

The weather had become threatening, however, and the 
air lay dark above the bay over whose surface the first gusts 
of wind came dancing merrily. But we longed to come on 
board in order to get a little proper food, a good bed and cheer¬ 
ful companions, and so we cast aside all hesitation and steered 
out across the bay. We had not gone very far, howe\cr, 
ere we discovered we were playing a dangerous game. 
Squalls came rushing down the glacier on to the bay, 
the waves of which they lashed into whirling foam, and 
swept on towards us amid clouds of sea-smoke, howling 
and whistling as they passed the boat. To prevent our 
craft from capsizing I kept her as near the wind as 




Tussock grass {Poet aestiitosd). Cumberland .Bay 



360 


ANTARCTICA. 


possible, but the consequence was that we merely “marked 
time,” while the rowers exhausted their powers in the 
work of holding the boat up against the wind. But this 
plan did not pay in the long run, for the storm grew 
madder every moment, and so we determined to scud 
obliquely towards the opposite shore. I waited until there 
came a pause between the gusts, and then we pulled like one 
man, and in a trice the dangerous turning was accomplished. 
Now we go along at a very different rate. Swiftly we speed 
out through the bay, gradually edging nearer the shore we 
intend to reach, and wc soon come close under the land to 
the north. There is a little bay just before us, and we de¬ 
termine to try to land there until the storm is over. But on 
approaching the mouth of the bay, I can see irom my seat 
m the stern a whole row of boiling breakers, towards which 
we are rushing at headlong speed. Certain destruction 
awaits us there. No, we must try to reach Jason Harbour 
and the Antarctic, Wc edge off from the shore again; once 
more we speed past points and Coaming bars and are soon at 
the headland where Jason Harbour begins. Now we have 
rounded it and are in smoother water, although the storm 
continues to whistle as though it came from a giant-bellows 
in the bay The Antarctic lies far, far off, and still looks 
very small. We labour onwards close under land, gaining a 
little m between the squalls, marking time when the slants of 
wind come, or dropping astern a little. The rowers exert 
their strength to the uttermost; muscles are strained; the 
oars bend elastically at each stroke Hurrah ! We are gain¬ 
ing ground. Pull hard ! Pull hard ! 

The Antarctic grows larger and larger as we approach. 
They catch sight of us on board, and her rail is soon black 
with people, and when we at last lay our boat alongside, 
we are greeted with a hearty, thundering hunah. 

The steward quickly got dinner ready for us in the gun-room, 
and while we eat, Larsen relates the chief features of the 
Antarctic's expedition along the coast. They had been up to 
the north-western part of the island, in Possession Bay and 




Hamberg glacier and its old terminal moraines 









ANTARCTICA 


362 

the Bay of Isles,JJ-he weather being almost the whole time 
exceedingly unfavom able, snow-hurricancs coming in rapid 
succession and rendering navigation amongst the innumerable 
islets and reefs a work of much difficulty But, in spite of all 
dangers and hardships, the party on the vessel had carried out 
very valuable investigations; some good trawlings, observa¬ 
tions respecting the former extent of the land-ice, and the 
discovery of breeding pairs of the great albatross ( Dio - 
mcdea cxulans), and some unfledged young ones, being the 
chief results of this journey. 

The morning after we rejoined the Antarctic the vessel 
weighed anchor and steamed across to May Cove, where we 
took our tent, collections, etc., on board, and then she went 
into South Fiord, and after making a sounding in the middle 
of this piece of water wc cast anchor in Boiler Bay, where the 
vessel remained for a month, until our departiue from South 
Georgia on the 15th June. 

During the first part of our stay in this harbour, our scientific 
labours were greatly favoured by calm and sunny weather. 
The snow which had fallen, now melted almost all away ; the 
temperature was almost always above zero, and the country 
had quite a summer-like appearance. Our cartographer 
was everywhere at work; geological studies were pursued 
under the most favourable conditions ; the zoologists and 
the botanist were fully occupied. The vessel made little trips 
out to the fiord for the purpose of taking soundings and for 
zoological work, returning to Boiler Bay at nightfall. 

During a visit I paid to Moraine Fioid on the 26th May, I 
discovered embedded in an enormous block of stone the first 
fossil found in South Georgia. The discovery was one of the 
greatest importance, but the little mollusc lay in such a 
position amid the level surface of the rock that wc had to set 
on foot a little expedition, consisting of Skottsberg, myself and 
two sailors, armed with drills and blasting powder and a tent 
and provisions for several days, and we had to work for two 
days, boring and blasting, ere we succeeded in getting the 
little fossil loose. 




The A-nt arctic m Boiler Bay 



The “ quarrying camp 



TENT LIFE AND BOAT EXPEDITIONS 365 

A recreation much in favour for a time was that of fishing. 
Boiler Bay pioved to be immensely rich in fish, and we caught, 
direct from the vessel’s side, more than 700 large and palatable 
fish belonging to two different species of the Notothema, 
peculiar to the Antarctic seas, and, for a period of some three 
weeks, fresh fish formed an important part of our daily fare 
on board. 

At the end of May the fine weather came to a close, and 
between the 5th and the 12th June, snowstorms, many of them 
veiy violent, raged almost incessantly, and covered the country 
with a white mantle about one yard in thickness Winter had 
at last deprived us m earnest of ail possibility of continuing our 
work on land, and so on the 15th June the Antarctic steamed 
out of Cumberland Bay, steering first direct from the coast, 
and taking, the meanwhile, a series of soundings, in order to 
determine the depth and breadth of the coast-bank (see 
sketch map, page 339). 



Plwlo l>y] 


[J. O. ASDEBbSON, 


The old giaveyaid 





From a uata-colour •painting by] 

MoUve from Beagle Channel. 


[0. Skomsberci. 


CHAPTER IV. 

TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND TFIE ONA INDIANS 

We retain to Port Stanley—Axel Ohlin lelmns to Sweden—Tieua del P'uego and 
the Onas—Anikin and Modesto. 

We left the coast of South Georgia on the 15th June, and after 
a long cruise up northwards reached Port Stanley in safety 
on the 4th July. The Antarctic was to lie here till the end of 
the winter, and we had now to endeavour to make the best 
possible arrangements for the naturalists of the party, in order 
that they might be able to continue their labours. A farmer, 
Mr V. Packe, very obligingly placed his unoccupied “ cook¬ 
house ” in Port Louis at our disposal, and here Skottsberg 
and myself spent nearly a month of the last part of the winter, 
occupied in various botanical and geological investigations. 
In the middle of August we returned to Port Stanley and the 
Antarctic , in order to make the necessary arrangements for 
our approaching journey to Tierra del Fuego 
Just at this time the Expedition experienced a painful loss, 
the elder of the two geologists of the party, Mr. Axel Ohlin, 






TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND THE ONAS. 367 

being compelled to return to Sweden on account of his 
health. 

* * * * # * * 

Aftei thankful good-byes to the amiable and hospitable 
inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, we gladly left the waste 
tundra-lands, where, during the short winter days, we had 
suffered so much from the rapid alternations of snow and 
thaw Spring was now at hand, and the Antarctic turned her 



Axel Olilin. 

Died in Sweden, 12th July, 1903. 


prow towards the magnificent channels and forest-skirted 
mountains of Tierra del Fuego, 

We left Port Stanley on the 6th September, and after a call 
at Port Albemarle in West Falkland, steered southwards to 
the Burdwood-bank, where three fine trawlings were made, 
our course being then laid for Beagle Channel, which we entered 
on September 15th. 

The chief end of our visit to Tierra del Fuego was to tho¬ 
roughly repair the sails and rigging of the Antarctic at Ushuaia 
before beginning the second summer voyage to the South 



368 


ANTARCTICA. 


Polar seas, and to take on board a full supply of coal and a 
necessary supply of reserve provisions, all of which, thanks 
to the munificence of the Argentine Republic, we found at 
our disposal at the port named. 

But it was also our wish to use every opportunity of extend¬ 
ing our knowledge of the natuial features of Ticrra del Fuego 
On the occasion of the first visit of the Antarctic to Usliuaia 
(m March), Skottsberg had penetrated the neighbouring belt 
of forest, and had studied the mountain flora to a height of 
nearly 1,300 metres (4,250 feet). He and K. A. Andersson 
now continued the exploration of the Usliuaia district and 
went together to Lago Roca, 111 the country behind Lapataia 
Bay, whilst I intended to solve a problem, the previous history 
of which was as follows. 

When an Argcntme-Chilian Commission was engaged in the 
first half of the “ nineties ” in determining the frontiers of the 
two countries, a lake of considerable dimensions—one of sixty 
miles m length—was discovered*in the interior of Tierra del 
Fuego, and was named after a Pater Fagnano, who believed 
that he had caught sight of this piece of water a few years 
eailier. Lago Fagnano empties itseli by a river some nine 
miles long—the Rio Azopat do—into the Almirantazgo, a bay 
in the Straits of Magellan. The Boundary Commission made 
a sketch-map of the contour of the lake, and it is also said 
that they made some soundings at considerable depths In 
February-March, 1896, Nordenskjold and Ohlm, who were 
then on an expedition to these parts, made an attempt to force 
their way up the Rio Azopardo, in order to carry out zoological 
investigations in Lago Fagnano, but the endeavour failed on 
account of want of time. 

As, therefore, a zoological examination of this large lake 
in the interior of Tierra del Fuego would, from many points of 
view, be one of importance and interest, I determined to carry 
a light boat to the lake and explore the, unknown water by 
means of trawl and tow-net. I remembered that during my 
trip on the Fair Rosamond, Captain Willis had once told me 
that some Indians belonging to the On as, a tribe dwelling in 




Gw gonoct pb a! us 

Star with branching arms Uuj dv> ock! b ink 76 fath 
g of naiuial sue 



3/0 


ANTARCTICA. 


that part oi Tierra del Fucgo north of the cordilleia, i.c , in 
the mountain region, had come from the east end of Lago 
Fagnano right down to the Beagle Channel at Barberton, 
through a pass in the mountains. 

Veiy fortunately for my purpose, there was at the time m 
Port Stanley one of the three brothers who are the proprietors 
of the settlement in Harbcrton, a Mr. William Bridges, 
youngest son of Thomas Bridges, the now deceased English 
missionary to the Yaligan Indians. This young man told me 
that he and his brothcis, helped by Ona workmen, had cut a 
riding path tluough the forest up to the pass m question, 
and on its farthei side, past Lake Fagnano, right across to the 
eastern coast of Tierra del Fucgo, where they had rented a 
new tract oi land from the Argentine Government, and he 
also said that at Harbcrton they had a canvas-boat, which I 
could borrow for the purpose of zoological work on the lake. 

Provided with a letter of introduction from Mr, William 
to the other members of the family, I quitted the Antarctic on 
the 15th September, the vessel continuing its journey west¬ 
ward through Beagle Channel to Usliuaia. In Iiarbeiton I 
was received in a most hospitable manner by the eldest of the 
three brothers, Mr. Despard Bridges, and his young wife. 

As I have said, the father had been dead for some years on 
the occasion of my visit, but his energetic sons continued the 
development of the farm, which was now the most flourishing 
along the Beagle Channel. There were always Ona families 
in larger or smaller numbers living m the vicinity of Harbcrton, 
but scarcely any of them could be considered as settled there. 
When the desire for wandering seizes them they go their ways 
and cross the cordillera far to the north of Lago Fagnano. 
They come and go, but the Bridges have by degrees entered 
into a kind of business connection with all the Onas south of 
the Rio Grande, so that the brothers are never in want of 
willing workmen. 

The Ona was once the lord of Tierra del Fuego, roving 
wherever he would m pursuit of the guanaco. Stormy and 
cold was the climate in his land; a guanaco-fleece, loosely 




24* 


Star fish from Buidwood bank 76 Jath 
of natural size. 



372 


ANTARCTICA. 


wrapped about bis body, was bis only garment ; his weapons 
were simple, and iood was often scaice. But lie was a free 
nomad. But in the “ eighties ” the white invaders—gold- 
diggers and sheep-farmers—made their appearance, and the 
work of extermination was soon in full play. One day a 
number of the Onas made their appearance near Harberton, 
where the Bridges received them from the very first in a 
friendly manner, and, by means of firm and consequent, 
but kindly treatment, made of them an inexpensive and easily- 
directed body of labourers. 

By degrees the young Bridges had extended their domains 
northwards towards the mountains. Accompanied by the Onas 
they had crossed the lull-chain by the pass, which was the In¬ 
dians 1 road (and which I have marked on a sketch-map by the 
name of this Indian tribe), and after penetrating to the east 
coast south of Rio Grande and there finding unoccupied 
territory suitable for sheep-farming, the brothers undertook 
the wonderful and gigantic task of hewing a path through the 
forest from sea to sea. 

When I reached Harberton the first signs of spling had just 
shown themselves. Near the shore the earth was bare in 
most places, but great masses of snow still lay in the woods, 
where they had accumulated during a winter which was one 
of the severest m the memory of man. 

My intention was, to endeavour to take the canvas-boat, 
provisions and the rest of our equipment, on a ski-sledge made 
by Reinholdz, third mate of the Antarctic , My companions 
on the journey were to be the young sailor Wennersgaaid 
from the Antarctic , and two Indians chosen for me by Mr. 
Despard. The elder of these Onas, quite a young man, but 
the husband of two wives, was called Anikin, which was his 
native appellation ; his comrade, Modesto, had been given 
his name from the Spanish, the language always used by Mr. 
Bridges when he spoke to the Indians. 

These two Onas were far from being agreeable and law- 
abiding fellows according to European ideas, On the con¬ 
trary, they were a couple of savage murderers, but, maybe, 




Group of Ona Indians 



374 


ANTARCTICA. 


they thereby best reached the standard of an honourable and 
capable man amongst their own people. 

Ancient vendettas exist between many of the small iamily 
groups into which the Ona tribe is split The original cause 
ol the quarrel can often be so old that it has lallen into 
forgetfulness, but the blood-fcud is carried on amidst the 
primeval forests as fiercely and as devastatmgly as ever—the 
domestic enemy of a race of human beings, grand in their 
wildness, but now decimated by tlic satamc gifts of the white 
man—rifle-balls, consumption, and other mlectious diseases. 

Anikin’s and Modesto’s people had a group of enemies 
somewhere in the woods north of Lago Fagnano. These 
Noith Indians—as I shall call them lor the sake of making 
a distinction—had once killed two men belonging to Anikin’s 
friends. This in itself was nothing unusual, and would not 
alone been sufficient to occasion such a violent loud as now 
arose. But a rumoiu was borne by waudeiiug Onus to 
Anikin’s and Modesto’s people that the women ol the North 
Indians had taken the dead bodies and given them to their 
dogs. Such an unheard of outrage called tor revenge; bloody, 
annihilating revenge, not on the lighting-men alone, but also, 
and principally on the women. It called for the extinction ol 
the entire horde. 

A white man, a gold-seeker, an “ explorer,” wished to 
obtain guides through the forests and over the mountains from 
Harbcrton to the Atlantic coast. Anikin and all the men 
of his clan showed the greatest willingness to accompany him, 
and on very cheap terms. The gold-seeker had a Winchester 
repeater, but the Indians told him it was not sufficient. The 
woods were not safe just now, they said, bo they went with 
the white man to a saw-mills in the vicinity of Harberton, and 
there he borrowed two more guns. 

When the parly had gone a little way past Lago Fagnano, 
the Indians pioposed that the white man should slay and 
take care of the baggage while they went with the guns and 
shot some guanacos. On the Indians coining a little way into 
the woods they stopped to take off their shoes oi guanaco- 




[0 BK0X1'RDI3U« 


Ona woman carrying the family tent 





ANTARCTICA. 


376 

skin, a custom among the Onus before they go to fight. The 
boy Modesto, as being the youngest of the party, was put to 
watch the things. 

While he sat with the bundle of shoes beside him, waiting 
breathlessly for the result of the strife, the warriors crept 
forward with noiseless steps. 

Suddenly, unexpectedly, they broke into the camp of their 
foes. There came a crackling fire, and a hissing of arrows 
through the air. When the fight was over, eleven of the 
enemy lay dead, men, women and childre'n, but Anikin’s 
party had also its tale of dead and wounded. 

This had taken place but a short hall year bfeforc my 
arrival at Harberton, and the affair was still lrcsli m people’s 
minds. The Indians had been punished by the Bridges by 
being refused peimission to work for them, and they did not 
dare go alone into the forests tor fear of the revenge the other 
side would surely endeavour to take, and so at last they had 
come with humble mien to the settlement, and begged to be 
received into favour once more 

But I had nothing to fear on the part of Amkin and 
Modesto, for even if the two men should entertain the. 
foolish idea of attacking me and Wcnneisgaard in order 
to make themselves masters of our weapons and other 
belongings, they knew that such a course would have 
the most far-reaching results. Anikin would never more be 
able to return to his wives and children, who were 
kept in Harberton as hostages foi our safety, and the little 
allowances enjoyed by Modesto’s mother during her son’s 
absence would be stopped. After a certain day agreed upon, 
Mr. Bridges and his workmen were to come out to search for 
us, and Anikin and Modesto had many enemies in the forest 
who would only be too glad to be able to help m tracking them 
should it be necessary, And the two Indians knew of old that 
Sefior Despard had a hard hand when he punished, even if he 
was the mildest of the three brothers. 

Thus, of these two companions I had nothing to fear; but 
how matters would stand should we meet any of their enemies 



TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND THE ONAS. 377 

111 tlie forest was quite another question. Still, I was quite 
certain that my Indians would be on their guard, in order to 
protect themselves m the case of such an eventuality by 
seeking shelter behind the Mauser pistol and the rifle, carried 
by Wennersgaard and myself 




Photo hy\ fj 0. AKElW-sOJ,. 

WenneiSzilard in ihe camas boat on Logo Fagnano, 


CHAPTER V. 

TO LAGO FAGNANO. 

■Difficulties at starting—We aie fmced In leluin- We incicase the nuiuhci of nui 
men and make piepaiations fm a new stait—The rivei Ilcmicn-Siliiki— Lago 
Fagnano—Ona massage—Ascent of Mount Ilcohopcn—Wading the Rio Yaic'la 
—A “mind’s eye ” picluic ol Ole Wenneisgaaid 

We started from Harberton on the morning of the x8th 
September. In crossing the tree-less and snow-free land 
nearest the shore, we were obliged to carry our things made 
up into several burdens; but on reaching the wooded slopes, 
where the snow still lay deep, we put everything on to the 
sledge. It was only with great difficulty, however, that 
we succeeded] in] moving the load a few yards foiward, and 
we saw at once that we should have to divide it and make 





TO LAGO FAG NANO 


379 


double journeys, so we went forwaid with the first half of the 
baggage as fai as we calculated we could come with the 
remainder befoie it giew dark When evening came, we 
had not gone many miles hom Harberton, and the necessity of 
thus going over the giound twice, made our prospects of 



I’lltllhj/] [0 6U0H lllllli 

Ona man 

In fioM llcslns ilicss, and lo the lctl his (juivei 


success look veiy black indeed, hut still we hoped to be able 
to make bettei piogiess on the following day 

Now we had to make a camp-fire, and this work the Indians 
undeistood best, of course But it was not so easy foi one 
to speak to them, and I—the “ civilized 11 man—found 
myself placed in a peculiar position in this regard, foi they 


ANTARCTICA. 


380 

(the savages) could speak a European tongue of which I knew 
little. However, with my little stock of Spanish phrases, 
and with the aid of signs when words failed, I managed to 
make myself pretty well understood. I said “ fuego,” and 
made gestures which were meant to signify ascending smoke. 
The Indians nodded and laughed. With an admirable 
knowledge of their work, they gathered excellent dry wood, 
and a roaring log lire soon cast its flickering light between the 
trees 

All the food was shared out, I buttered the ship’s biscuits 
myself, and the same number of bits of sugar were put into 
all four tea-basins. Everything was divided equally, to the 
Indians as well as to ourselves. 

In order to make our burdens as light as possible, we had 
not brought any tent with us, but Wcnnersgaard and I crept 
into our sleeping-bags under shelter oi the canvas-boat, 
while the Indians lay in the open in the bags I had given 
them. We all lay as close as we could to the still glowing 
fire. The Indians lay awhile and chatted to each other m 
their own strange, difficult language; the peculiar rolling 
sounds of which are very difficult for European tongues to 
pronounce. 

On the following morning we made an early start. After 
a troublesome toiling up hill and down dale; once deep 
down in a valley, around a river that happily was still Irozen 
over; sometimes on steep slopes where the sledge often 
slipped m wrong directions and once or twice turned upside 
down, towards evening we at last brought our whole load 
to one of the belts of open woodland, near the border of the tree¬ 
less mountain-valley. But when in the morning of our 
third march-day we waded up to a fiat ridge, from whence 
we could see the yet distant cordillera, I found it necessary 
to cry “ Halt ” and consider the matter a little. With this 
time-wasting marching forwards and backwards, it would 
take us two lull days more ere we crossed the mountain pass, 
and then we had a lour days’ march to Lago Fagnano. This 
would never do, as our provisions would not suffice for such 



TO LAGO FAGNANO. 


38i 

a slow journey. Modesto, who had the whole time seemed 
to disappiove of our method of marching, now came toivvaid 



nolo ini , [°. acorasunnn 

The winler-gieen beech (Fagih hlulottta), 


and held up all his teu fingers, in order to signify how many 
days it would take us to reach our destination, and I finally 
found that there was no other choice for us but to return 



ANTARCTICA. 


382 

to Harbciton and make a new start with appliances moie 
suited for the journey, for it was evident that the ski-sledge 
was not adapted for use in these dreadful woods 

We left the boat and a quantity of provisions in a grove, 
and thus relieved of the most troublesome pait of our load, 
we returned at full speed, following our own tracks back to 
Harbcrton. Near the Indian camp, which lay near the inner 
part of the bay, wc stopped loi a few minutes in order to 
rest a while. We were immediately sunounded bj? a con¬ 
fused crowd of inquisitive, dirty old women, dried up old 
men, stout young damsels, and luilf-naked youngsters. They 
all spoke at once, questioning Amkm and Modesto ; looked 
at me and laughed One old lellow especially was immensely 
amused. “ Hi-hi-hi' Hi-hi-hi,” came his guifaws, until he 
was nearly out of breath. I, of course, could not under¬ 
stand a syllable of tlie haisli, peculiar sounds that rose aiound 
me in endless confusion, but it was no difficult task Lo grasp 
the meaning of it all—that the crowd was enjoying itself heartily 
at my expense. But the very next day the Indians iound 
out that “ cl doctor m spite oi lus first ill-success, had not 
forgotten Ins intention to visit Lago Fagnano. 

On making inquiries I found four Onas who weie willing 
to carry the canvas boat and a part oi the provisions over 
the cordillera to the lake. These men were now equipped 
with a small but, according to their ideas, a good supply 
of provisions, consisting of ship’s biscuits, a couple of fins 
of corned beef, and some tea and sugar. Mr. Bridges lent 
them a Winchester repeater, and some cartridges, in order 
that they might be able to eke out their supplies by guanaco 
hunting. The two new men who, on this occasion, joined my 
old followers Anikin and Modesto, were called Halimink 
and Hattah, the latter a stately young fellow who, although 
lie was rather too fat for European ideas of beauty, was most 
certainly an adorable being in the eyes of the Ona ladies. 
The three cider Indians took their wives with them on the 
expedition, and Modesto, who was still a bachelor, procured 
an unmarried woman to accompany him. I have good reason 



TO LAGO FAGNANO. 


383 

to believe that the women’s participation 111 the tup .was 
not for pleasure merely, but that, as is usually the case in the 
wanderings of the Indians, the females had to carry the 
heaviest part of the burdens The little troop started on the 
24th of September, and in spite of a continuous snow-storm, 
they were back at Harberton again on the 3rd of October, and 
informed me that they had carried out their commission. 

In the meanwhile 1 had been occupied with geological 
.work in the surrounding district, and had made a little sailmg- 
tnp in a cutter to Slogget Bay, near the eastern entrance 
to the Beagle Channel, where there was an interesting 
outcrop of coal 

A number of preparations had also been made m Harberton 
/ lor the fresh journey to Lago Fagnano The sleepmg-bags 
of felt used by us on the first trip weighed altogether more 
than 7'9 kilogrammes (174 lbs). I had now got the Indian 
women to make sleeping-bags of guanaco-skins sewed togethei 
by means oi the sinews of the same animal. Such a sleeping-bag 
weighed only 3*7 kilogrammes (84 lbs.), or only one-half of 
what the old ones did We also procured a couple of pairs 
of snow-shoes of canvas stretched over a frame of coarse 
iron wire 

We started on the 7th of October, the party being the 
same as 011 the first trip, and each of us carrying his share 
of the pack. The Rio Varela which, on the occasion of 
our first attempt, had been quite frozen over, now proved 
to have an open channel in the middle; but with a little 
caution we managed to cross the river pretty easily. 

When we came to the treeless patches of mountain moor¬ 
land which, in the upper part of the forest regions, lie between 
the highest thin belts of timber, we found it very muddy 
going. I went first on my snow-shoes to trample down 
the snow for those behind me, but it sometimes happened 
that the one or the other of us disappeared altogether in 
the snow, when he was unlucky enough to come into the 
hidden space between the branches of a snow-coveied bush. 

At 4.30 m the afternoon, we camped in the last grove at 



384 


ANTARCTICA 


the foot of the mountain-ridge. The district through which 
we had now journeyed lor a whole day from the Beagle 
Channel to the mountains is a forest of two species of beeches— 
Fagus antarchca and F. betuloides —the former of which 
sheds its leaves, while the latter is green through the winter 
When we put newly-broken branches of the last land oi 
beech m the tent as a bed on which to place our sleeping- 
bags, they spread there the same fine scent as that given by 
fresh birch leaves, so that even in this respect, too, it 
deserves its name of “ betuloides.” 

Early the next morning I saw from the hill-slopes on flic 
western side of the pass, and for the first time, the glassy 
surface oi La go Fagnano, gleaming amid the dark, enfram¬ 
ing woodland, far olf to the northwards, and immediately at 
the end of an almost straight valley into which we weie 
about to make our way. 

The descent was veiy steep, and had been made more 
difficult during the course of the winter by the fact that the 
wind had just here heaped an immense snow-drift which, m 
some places, overhung the valley. From this drift great 
blocks of snow had loosened during the days of thaw, and 
had rolled a good way down, growing m size by additions from 
the soft mantle of snow on tbe bill-side. Some of these 
small avalanches had swept a way through the brush-wood, 
breaking down trees and bushes. 

Going through the open glades at the upper end of the 
valley, the sun was so intensely hot that Wenncrsgaarcl 
and I perspired, although we had taken off our jackets and 
waistcoats, but the Indians seemed quite mdiffeient to both 
cold and heat. Not a drop of sweat could be seen on their 
big, red-brown faces, although they carried their ample 
guanaco robes thrown around them outside of the clothes 
of European cut, which they wore during this journey. 

We then followed the course of a river which flows into 
Lago Fagnano and which is called in the Ona tongue, Henuen- 
shiki. In the upper part of the valley its course is pretty 
straight, but lower down it runs in sinuous windings, so 




386 ANTARCTICA. 

that during the day we were obliged to cross it at least ten 
times. 

The forest here was of quite another character than that on 
the southern side of the cordillera. The pretty winter- 
green beech had quite disappeared, and Fagus anlarctica was 
the sole ruler of the woods, its leafless branches, hung with 
long festoons of tree-hair, giving the forest a peculiar touch 
of gloom which was deepened by the rain-mist under a 
lowering, tempestuous sky. 

The following day we continued our journey along the 
river to a point where the stream, now running through a 
deep ravine, makes a turn to the N.N.W. and keeps that 
direction through a somewhat lully forest-land until it comes 
to Lago Fagnano Here the path cut by the Bridges leaves 
the course of the river, and runs pretty straight towards the 
N.N E. to the foot of the isolated mountain called by the 
Onas, Heohopen, lying at the south-eastern corner of the lake. 
Here the Indians made signs that we should leave the path 
and take a northerly direction through the woods. It was 
first during the toilsome journey which now ensued, over 
fallen trunks, through brushwood and lumber, that we clearly 
understood what use we had had of the cleared road we had 
hitherto followed. 

Half-past six in the evening found us near the shore of 
a pretty, little lagoon close to Lago Fagnano. Modesto 
pointed out to me, with visible satisfaction, that the boat 
with the provisions inside of it was hanging upside down 
between a couple of trees, quite in accordance with the in¬ 
structions I had given the Indians who had brought the 
things here. It was evident that the men had carried out 
their task in a perfectly satisfactory manner. 

The next three days were devoted to the zoological 
investigations which were the chief end of the expedition, 
Wennersgaard and I taking it in turns to row on the lake 
in the cranky little canvas boat, for the purpose of trawling 
and of using the tow-net to obtain plancton forms. 

When we left Harberton, the two Indians were suffering 



TO LAGO FAGNANO 387 

from an attack of influenza, which disease was, at the time, 
general amongst both the whites and the natives, and, very 
naturally, their condition grew worse in consequence of the 
wading through ice-cold streams, and of their wearing their 
drenched guanaco-cloaks day and night—to say nothing of 
the forced march while laden with heavy burdens. Conse¬ 
quently, when we were encamped at Lago Fagnano, I gave 
them very little to do, in order that they might gam a little 
strength for the return journey Anikin’s case was the 
worse of the two and I gave him the best remedy I had at 
hand, viz,, sulphate of quinine After taking a few doses, 
he made signs that he felt a noise in the ears—a thing which, 
as is well known, can be occasioned by too large doses of 
this particular medicine. I at once stopped giving him any 
more of the remedy, but this was not sufficient for Anikin, 
who set about arranging a native antidote against the new 
evil. Happening to look out of my tent I saw a most re¬ 
markable sight—the only thing, by the way, during the whole 
time we were together with these two Indians that reminded 
us that they were children of a savage race—and it was 
this : Anikin lay stretched on the ground with one ear up¬ 
wards and Modesto was standing on his friend’s head and 
trampling on it with his bare feet! It is true that I knew 
that the Onas use massage, often given with the feet, as a 
general cure lor all kinds of illnesses, but still, I was amazed 
to find the treatment used to cure a ringing in the ears But 
the next day Anikin was quite relieved of this trouble, and 
the happy result most naturally strengthened his belief in the 
primitive cure. 

It was my intention to devote the last day of our stay 
at Lago Fagnano to making an ascent of Mount Heohopen, 
which rises above the limits of the forest and from which 
I hoped to obtain an open view in all directions and be thus 
enabled to complete my map of the tract through which we 
had journeyed. 

On the morning of the 13th, when I was making preparations 
for the ascent, both the Indians were very bad with the 

25* 



3 88 


ANTARCTICA 


influenza, and so I determined to undertake the ascent ac¬ 
companied by Wenncrsgaard alone. When the Indians saw 
us ready to leave the camp, taking with us both the gun and 
the Mauser pistol, they showed signs ol much uneasiness, 
pointing towards the iorest and saying something about 
“ Onas malos ” (bad Onas) They were apparently afraid 
of being left defenceless against ancient enemies, who might 
make their appearance during our absence, so I gave them 
the gun and some cartridges and this restored their confidence 
and they quietly lay down to rest again beside the camp¬ 
fire. 

Our ascent of Mount Heoliopen was lavoured by fine, 
clear weather, and I had from the top the most extensive 
and varied view I ever enjoyed. Towards the west could 
be seen the greater part of the 60 miles-long Lake Fagnano ; 
S.W. by S. and S.S E. we marked the northern slopes of the 
cordillera of Tioira del Fuego, while E and by N. stretched 
the low-lymg plains of the countiy. In the last named direc¬ 
tions, foi a considerable distance along the horizon, could be 
discerned the (Waters of the Atlantic, whose mighty waves, 
viewed through a glass, resembled line, wavy, lines Out ol the 
forests to the north, there rose in a couple of places the 
smoke of the Indians’ camp-fires 

On the following morning (October 14th), we began our return 
journey, and after a march of two days and a half, we were 
once more in Harberton I shall relate but a single episode 
of this part of our expedition. 

It was during the last day’s march between the cordillera 
and the Beagle Channel We had already had various 
intimations that spring had begun 111 earnest with its work 
of snow-melting; long stretches of the path through the 
forest were now quite bare, and down in the dells it was 
covered with pools of water. But the great surprise was 
waiting for us at the crossing of the Rio Varela which had 
now become a real “ rio malo,” as the Indians called it, and 
rushed, foaming and deep, between steep and rocky banks. 
To me it seemed impossible to wade across the river without 



TO LAGO FAGNANO. 


389 

danger of being swept away by its swift, whirling tide. So 
I chose an old, gigantic beech which stood leaning across the 
hood, and began to attack it with our little axe, in the hope 
that it would fall so that we could cross the deepest and 
most rapid part of the stream on the trunk. 

But the Indians, who had, most certainly, much experience 
in wading through the rivers of Tierra del Fuego, did not 
await the result of my attempt, but got down into the water 
with their loads fastened high up on their backs, and each 
armed with a ski-staff. Slowly and carefully feeling for a fast 
footing amongst the stones m the bed of the river, they moved 
onwards until the water reached to their waists, ]ust at the 
place where the stream whirled along most fiercely. Twice 
they had to turn back, but at last they found a place where 
they could manage to cross. After placing their burdens 
on the opposite shore, they returned and took our knap¬ 
sacks over 1 was a little doubtful as to the intentions of 
the Indians, for if they meant us to wade after them, I was 
afraid that the attempt would be an unsuccessful one, un¬ 
accustomed as Wennersgaard and I were to this kind of 
sport. But the Indians returned again and made signs to us, 
as though it was the most natural thing in the world, to 
place ourselves on their hacks. Anikin took me, and Modesto 
carried Wennersgaard, and they waded into the stream with 
slow and cautious steps I was seized with a most unpleasant 
sensation of dizziness, as I sat there, crouching on the Indian’s 
back and staring down at the foaming whirlpools, and was 
obliged to exercise the greatest restraint upon myself lest an 
involuntary movement on my part should cause Anikin 
to lose his balance. After a few doubtful, groping steps, 
my bearer’s movements became more confident and quicker, 
and we soon reached the southern bank of the river in 
safety. 

When, a few minutes later, I sat before a flaming log-fire, 
where the Indians were endeavouring to dry their dripping 
clothes, I looked at my wild companions with feelings, not 
only of gratitude, but also of envy—I may even say, shame. 



390 


ANTARCTICA. 


For they were not in such good health as Wcnnersgaard and 
I, and their limbs trembled, not only with cold aftei the bath 
in the icy waters of the Rio Varela, but also with the lever, 
which had increased in consequence of the long and toil¬ 
some march. 

And these were a couple of the savages whom the white 
man hunts as though they were dangerous animals ! Savages, 
who need but a little friendly treatment for them to show 
a willing perseverance m work, a blithe and lively disposition, 
and an even, calm attachment to their employer ! It makes 
one’s heart burn to think of all the wrongs inflicted by the 
whites upon these children of the wastes Who can then 
be astonished if, under such circumstances, the Ona meets 
evil with evil, cnnnmg with cunning, and death with death ? 
Which of us shall dare to blame the poor barbarian who has 
endeavoured to defend his little spot of earth against the 
white invader, whose one wish seems to be a desire to bring 
all the kingdoms of the earth beneath his dominion ? 

‘1* O/ 

T T* T 'P T 'P T 

This expedition to Lago Fagnano has given no other results 
than pleasant memories and a few notes, together with 
sketch-maps, and some practical experience which should be 
of use to me on another visit to Tierra del Fuego, which I 
am now planning. All the collections made during the couise 
of our little expedition were taken by me on board of the 
Antarctic when she started southwards, and went to the 
bottom with her. 

And my companion on this journey over the cordillera 
—the young Norwegian seaman, Ole Wennersgaard—fell a 
victim to the hardships we encountered in our conflict with 
the ice and a South Polar winter. The cairn which covers 
his remains lies on Paulet Island, where the silence is broken 
in winter by nothing but the soughing of the storms, and 
where the summer hears only the confused cries of innumerable 
flocks of penguins. 

When my thoughts sometimes go back to our camp-life 



TO LAGO FAGNANO. 


391 

m the primeval forests of Tierra del Fuego, they willingly 
linger before a picture they see there. 

It is evening, and we he around the camp lire while our 
supper is boiling. Modesto and Wennersgaard have thrown 
themselves on the ground quite close to each other, and are 
carrying on a curious conversation The latter of the two 
is asking all manner of questions m the puiest Norwegian, 
and the Ona answers with a long rigmarole in his harsh, 
strange tongue. This goes on for a time until their mirth, 
overpowers them, and then the droll titter of the Indian 
mingles with the ringing laugh of the youthful Northman. 

And both the merry laughter and the man are now naught 
but dreams. 



Ole Wennersgaard. 

Died at Paulet Island, 7th June, 1903. 




CHAPTER VI. 


SOUTHWARDS. 

Once mote on boaid the Antauth—lw the pack ice—A dungcious nmghbom— 
Deception Island—Middle Island disappears fot ever—The coldest botlom- 
waLer o[ the ocean—Caitogiaphic labours'—Cape Mutiny and Cape Neyt— 
A tiibute to the ofllcets and men o[ the A atari tk —l'cnguiii eggs. 

During the time I was making my scientific investigations 
at Lago Fagnano and in the district o! Harberton, the Ant¬ 
arctic lay at Ushuaia completing hex' stores for the summer’s 
journey to the South Polar Ocean, and the crew had had 
plenty to do, putting the various parts of the ship in order. 
The bottom of the vessel was scraped free from the coating 
of algee and small sea-animals, whose presence had of late 
greatly diminished the speed of the ship ; new sails were sewn, 
parts of the rigging were repaired, and so on ; and when this 
work was finished, a large supply of provisions and of coal 
was sent on board from the Argentine store-ship Eltiempo. 

On the 30th October the Antarctic came to Harberton in 
order to fetch off Skottsberg and myself—the former having 
arrived a few days previously—and to obtain a supply of fresh 



SOUTHWARDS. 


393 


mutton On the 4th November the vessel returned to 
Ushuaia with all on board, and early the next morning we 
commenced our journey southwards. Amongst the letters 
posted at Ushuaia were two ol similar contents, the one 
written to the Secretary of the Swedish Anthropological and 
Geographical Society, and the other to the Swedish-Norwegian 
Consul-General in Buenos Ayres. They gave directions for 
the measures of relief which should be taken m the event of 
the non-arrival of the Antarctic after a certain date. 

Late in the evening of the 7th November our vessel crossed 
the latitude of Cape Horn, at a point south-west of Hermite 
Island, and the whole of the following day we steered south¬ 
east by south at a good rate under sail alone At 2 p.m the 
next day our first iceberg came into view ; it was rather small 
and irregular 111 shape. On the night of the 9th, when we 
were in lat. 59° 30' S. and long. 66° W , wc met the first wave- 
worn cakes of floating pack-ice. 

This latter incident was an unexpected one. The South 
Shetland Islands are usually accessible without the least 
hindrance on the part of the ice, and the preceding year—at 
a later period of the summer, it is true—the Antarctic had 
found nothing but ice-free water. 

Two days later, on the night between the nth and the 12th, 
our further progress was stayed by the edge of close pack-ice, 
and, after making a few attempts at forcing it, we soon found 
ourselves fast in impenetrable ice. For the next few days the 
weather was calm and sunny. As soon as the pack grew more 
open, Larsen rammed his way forward a bit, bdt the ice closed 
round us again, and we had to content ourselves with making 
measurements of the pieces and letting down our plancton 
nets in the small open spaces at the sides of the vessel, or with 
looking at little flocks of penguins that were occasionally visible 
on the small floes m the neighbourhood. During the course 
of these clear days we could stand on the bridge and count fifty 
icebergs of varying form around us, some of them being the 
immense table-lilce giants with smooth, perpendicular sides, 
which are peculiar to South Polar waters. 



394 


ANTARCTICA. 


But by noon on the 17th the line weather had come to an 
end. jThe air grew foggier and foggier, and the wind freshened, 
until by night-time it had grown to a heavy storm. The ice 
soon came m motion ; leads were formed here and there amid 
the pieces of ice, which elsewhere lay closely packed pressing 
and rubbing against each other. At 2 a.m. the Antarctic was 
made fast Lo a large patch of ice, which biokc into several 
fragments during the couise of the next morning, and the 
vessel began drifting. The ship drifted faster than the ice, 
its lofty rigging catching the wind so much. She surges and 
glides onwards between the pieces of ice, which scrape against 
her sides with a continuous roar. Several times we are obliged 
to let the engines work us loiward through the ice in order to 
avoid one or other of the icebergs towards which the move¬ 
ment of the pack-ice is carrying us. 

The storm was of long duration. At 2.30 a.m. on the 21st 
November, I was awakened by loud orders from tlic captain’s 
bridge, and I dressed myself hurriedly and hastened on deck. 
Three or four ship’s lengths on our larboard lay an iceberg 
which was considerably higher than out mainmast and about 
three times as long as the vessel. The iceberg shot up m 
overhanging masses, the highest of which were in places 
partly disconnected from the main body of the iceberg, We 
were m evident danger ol being carried by the pack which 
fay close around the Antarctic, right on to the ice-mountain. 
To add to our difficulties we were in the midst of a blinding 
snowstorm. The engines were going at full speed, and we 
had the jib and the fore-sail set. For a long time the vessel 
moved slowly forward a few yards, only to be pressed back 
by the floes, but after a while the pieces of ice gave way be¬ 
fore the united pressure of steam and sail, and the Antarctic 
glided past the iceberg into the lead which had been formed 
m its lee. 

During the night of the 22nd the storm subsided, and the 
next afternoon we could once more begin to force our way 
towards the land, through ice which first lay pretty close, 
but which gradually became more open. At 9 p.m. we ireached 




Drifting towards an iceberg. 
The morning of November 21 st. 










396 ANTARCTICA, 

the open coast-waters ol the South Shetlands, the nearest ol 
which, Smith Island, now lay before us at an estimated dis¬ 
tance of thuty nautical miles, and the following day we entered 
Bransfield Strait near the west coast of Snow Island, and made 
a hasty visit to a couple of small islands in the neighbourhood 
oi the one just named, after which we steered for Deception 
Island, wheie the ice conditions proved to be much moie 
favourable. Some scattered belts of ice in our way were so 
loose that they scarcely letarded the progress ol the vessel. 

Deception Island is, as is well known, one of the most typical 
and one of the largest ol Lhe crater-islands of the earth. It is 
annular in shape, being about ig kilometres (nl- miles) across 
in its greatest breadth, and has a crater in the middle which 
is connected with the ocean by means ol a narrow opening. 

When the place was visited in 1828 by Captam Forster, in 
command ol the English frigate Chanticleer , emanations of 
sulphuretted hydiogen and steam were observed neai the 
shore at the foot of the crater, and hot springs with a tem¬ 
perature of 88° C. (igo°.4 F.) were met with near these 
fumaroles. 

Smiley, the American seaman, who called at the island in 
1842, reported that the whole south side was in a state of lively 
volcanic activity, and that there were no less than thirteen 
“ places of eruption.” 

As there are no later accounts of the island in existence, it 
was with much interest that we prepared to land there, in 
order to investigate its present condition, but we met with a 
great disappointment on reaching the spot on the evening of 
the 23rd. The entrance to the crater was blocked by pack- 
ice, and we could perceive through the narrow opening that 
the crater was filled with closely-packed and, possibly, un¬ 
broken ice. All idea of investigating the volcano, had there¬ 
fore, to be abandoned. Exteriorly theie was not the least 
trace of recent volcanic activity. On the southern side of the 
approach, the waves had made a fine perpendicular cutting in 
the walls of the volcano, exposing its interior structure, with 
stratification sloping both inwards and outwards. 



SOUTHWARDS. 


397 


We lay by the island during the night, and early the next 
morning Skottsberg and I rowed to a point on the southern 
shore near the little rocky islet south-south-west of the 
entrance to the ciater The island just here was covered 
with ice, and we had an opportunity of observing the peculiar 
alternation of deposits of glacier-icc and volcanic ashes already 
mentioned by earlier visitors to the place, and which need not , 
I am certain, be ascribed to repeated eruptions of ashes, but 
merely to the violent storms which have now and then spread 



Photo Ziy] [C. A. LiltSRH. 

Antarctic penguins. 


layers of the ashes already existing on the spot, over the land- 
ice. Up on the slope, on the hills of ashes sticking up out of 
the covering of ice, and even out on the inland-ice where this 
was covered by a thin layer of volcanic ashes, we found a 
pretty large colony of penguins (Pygoscehs antarctica ), where 
the egg-laying season was at its height. While Skottsberg 
and one of the seamen eagerly collected and took down to 
the boat hatful after hatful of eggs, I went alone up the 
slope of ice, m the hope of being able to obtain a view of 
the crater from the top, but I soon became involved in such 





ANTARCTICA 


398 

a labyrinth of ice-fissures that I was obliged to return with¬ 
out having accomplished the task 

From Deception Island we made for McFarlane Sound, 
between Livingstone and Greenwich Islands, on the latter of 
which we had arranged, while we weie 111 Ushuaia, to leave 
some information respecting our journey. The sound was, 
however, lull of close pack-ice, which blocked the approach 
to the appointed bay on the west side of Greenwich Island,* 
so we had to be satisfied with a hurried landing on the eastern¬ 
most part of Livingstone Island, where we found a little 
colony of Antarctic penguins, who weie robbed of all the eggs 
we could hnd in their nests 

Ever since we enteied Bransfield Strait, the weather had 
been calm and fine, and remarkably clear. On the further 
side of the broad channel wc could plainly distinguish the 
mountain-tops and the snow-covered plateaux on both sides 
of the Orleans Channel—the old Trinity Land. But nothing 
could be seen of Middle Island, the one which, according to 
the charts, is situated in Bransfield Strait between McFarlane 
Sound and Astrolabe Island. The existence of Middle Island 
has already been called m questionf, and we had now to 
obtain such satisfactory proofs as would justify us in blotting 
its name out of the map. So on the morning of the 25th 
of November we steered from McFarlane Sound out towards 
the place where Middle Island was supposed to lie. Here we 
took a sounding and found a depth of 1,450 metres (780 
fathoms). The horizon was so clear at the time that there is 
no probability that the island really does exist, but that 
its position has been incorrectly given. 

On the spot which had been given as the position of Middle 
Island we made a rcmaikable hydrographical discovery, 
viz., that the deep water, 500-1,450 metres (270-780 fathoms) 
just here has a far lower temperature than the bottom 
water in any other part of the Antarctic Ocean, the normal 

* Such a communication was deposited on the 26th of November on a little head¬ 
land on Lhe N.W. side of Astiolabe Island, by the side of a signal-post. 

I' v. Fnckcr Antartlis, pp. 127-128. 



SOUTHWARDS. 


399 



temperature of which never falls below -o°.5 C. (3i°.i F.), 
whilst the average for the given depths at this spot was 
-i°.47 C. (2Q°.35 F.), the temperature at the lowest depth 
being -i°.65 C. (29°.03 F.), and that consequently we have 
here the coldest deep water known in any part of the globe , colder 
even than the deep water of the Norwegian Polar Sea 
( — 15'' C. or 29.3" F.) Just as the tract of sea just named, 
which is separated from the North Atlantic by an immense 
submerged bank (the Faroe Islands—Iceland—Greenland), 


Photo by] [0 A. Larkin. 

A parL o£ the east shore of Trinity Island 

is cut off from unobstructed connection with the North 
Atlantic, whose relatively warm deep water (4- 1,3° to 2.4 0 C 
or 34.34 0 to 36.3° F.) is prevented from streaming into the 
Arctic Ocean—this Bransheld Strait must be a basin isolated 
by submerged thresholds, and cooled by constant connection 
with sea-ice and icebergs. Soundings taken on December 
12th, when we were drifting southward, showed, at 7.30 a.m., 
560 fathoms; at 11 a.m., 470 fathoms, and at 2.30 p m , 
346 fathoms. The next day we had 338 fathoms, but two 
days later, on the 15th, in latitude 6 i°. 35' S. and longitude 



400 


ANTARCTICA. 


53" AY. we found a depth o£ 884 fathoms, with a bottom 
temperature of —0.4° C (31.3" F.) 

When we steamed away fi om the spot where Middle Island 
was not, and crossed Bransficld Strait ovei to Astrolabe 
Island, there lay before us a most important cartographical 
task. In January, 1898, the Belgtca had penetrated amongst 
the islands of the archipelago lymg along the noith-west 
coast oi Graham Land, and had there discovered a long, 
extensive channel running between the island-wall and that 
part of the mainland winch then received the name of Danco 
Land. The new sound (the Belgica, or, as it was afteiwards 
called, the Gerlache Channel), was mapped out from that 
pom! (Cape Neyt) where the Bdgica entered it, down to its 
soutli-wcst extremity. But its continuation towards the 
N.E. and the trend of the coast of the mainland in that 
direction remained unknown, and the sketch-charts made 
by different members of the Belgian Expedition offer most 
vaiymg solutions of the problem. 

During the course of the first journey of our expedition 
along the coasts of Graham Land, the Antarctic sailed into 
the entrance of that sound of hitherto unknown nature, 
called by Dumont d’Urville, the Orleans Channel, and which 
was now discovered to be a passage trending to the south¬ 
west, and inside of a chain of islands which at first was not 
a very continuous one. The Antarctic soon came to a place 
where Nordenslcj old thought that lie could recognize certain 
ieatures distinguishing the Gerlache Channel of the Belgian 
Expedition, one cape being almost positively indentified 
as that marked Cape Murray on the Belgian charts, of which 
a view is given in Dr. Cook’s account of the voyage (cf. 
Nordenslcj old’s remarks and the photograph, on page 36). 
But the differences between the headlands, bays and islands 
which were now passed, and the contours given on the Belgian 
chart, were so great, and the indentification in itself was of 
so uncertain a nature that Duse, our cartographer, found 
himself obliged to choose between two alternatives ; either 
that the testimony given by the photograph of Cape Murray 




26 


Cape Neyt and Mont Alio 





402 


ANTARCTICA. 


was of a doubtful nature and the identification consequently 
false, or that the details of the Belgian chart were almost 
everywhere incorrect as far as regards the stretch of water 
which had been navigated. 

This was how the matter stood when the Antarctic left 
these tracts the first summer, after two (Jays’ examination 
of the coast-line, and now our task was to definitely solve 
the problem. To do this we had—(i) to obtain a clear and 
certain grasp of the facts of the case ; (2) to show the con¬ 
nection of this channel with the Belgam chart, and to base 
this connection on undisputable evidence ; and (3) to make 
out the Orleans Channel. It now proved that Noidenskjold 
had been correct in his mdentification of Cape Murray, and 
111 his assumption that the Orleans Channel and the Bclgica 
Channel were only different parts oi one and the same long 
passage, but, on the other hand, Duse, during the course 
of his cartographical labours, was able in some cases to give 
direct proofs of the inaccuracy of the Belgian chart, a state 
of the case he had the previous summer considered as being 
highly probable, and which had then rendered the work of 
mdentification so difficult. 

When we reached Cape Murray on the evening of the 1 st of 
December, we considered that we could determine our position 
partly by means of the cape mentioned, and partly by the 
resemblance between Two Hummocks Island and the drawing 
of it reproduced by Arctowsld,* But the next day, when 
Duse mapped out the coast of the mainland in Hughes Bay, 
from Cape Murray to Cape von Steineclc, lie pointed out such 
important deviations from the Belgian chart that we once 
more felt ourselves “ at sea.” A comparison between the 
Belgians’ croqms firovisoire —which has been reproduced on 
many different scales, but has not as yet been followed by 
any definite edition—and Duse’s work, proves this to the 
full. On the Belgian chart there is no indication of the islands 
to the north of Cape Murray, and the Cape W, Spring we 

# l! 


Exploration of Antarctic Lands..” Geog, Joinnal, Feb. 1901, 



SOUTHWARDS 403 

find on that map, resolves itself 111 reality into a group of 
pretty large islands. 

From this spot we steei ed right across the channel in 
order to mdentify that picture of Cape Neyt and Mont 
Alio which has been published by several members oi the 
Belgian Expedition,* and this we quite succeeded in doing. 
The accompanying illustration (page 401) reproduces the 
landscape in question, with a fidelity to even the slightest 



Photo hj] [0. A. LARSES. 

Motive fiom the Oileans Channel. 

The A ntart lit is visible through the rocky portal. 

details which leaves no room for doubt. It is only the 
presence in our photograph of some small icebergs in front 
of the shore which shows that the views were taken at 
different times. 

These photographs of the two headlands, Capes Murray 
and Neyt—situated at the south-western boundary of the 
district mapped out by Duse, connect this tract in a most 
undisputable way with the chart published by the Belgian 
Expedition. It is in reality a most fortunate circumstance 

* Racovilzft. ** Vers le fifth sud" p. 181. Pans, 1900. 


26* 



404 


ANTARCTICA. 


that these photographs were published before our visit to 
these parts, for without them no certain connection could 
well have been established by the aid of the Belgian chart, 
which is crowded with faults 

Let us take merely one example more. In a north-easterly 
direction from Cape Neyt there extends, as Duse’s chart shows, 
a very characteristic wall of islands, consisting of two larger 
islands and some smaller ones. These correspond to the 
lies Christiana of the Belgian chart, but the position given 
there is quite incorrect, and they are represented as being 
much smaller than they really are. 

It is a most unpleasant duty to be obliged to make these 
remarks respecting the cartographic work of the Bclgica 
Expedition, both because we know fiom our own experience 
the difficulties the cartographer has to contend with in these 
tracts, and also because the scientists of that expedition 
have rendered us the greatest assistance in very many 
respects. 

This detailed account has been requisite in order that 
the reader might be able to understand with what contra¬ 
dictions between charts and nature we had to contend, ere 
we could gain a clear insight into the connection that existed 
between the Orleans and the Gerlache Channels. Future 
expeditions that may visit the waters navigated by the 
Bclgica and the Antarctic will be fully able to appreciate our 
difficulites. 

During the days necessary for mapping the Orleans Channel 
(November 26th—December 5th), the vessel was placed 
almost entirely at Duse’s disposition. He determined the 
ship’s course, and the landings necessary for his work. On 
nearly every one of these eighteen landings he was accompanied 
by Skottsberg and myself, we two seizing every opportunity 
of making botanical and geological collections, whilst Karl 
Andreas Andersson, at work on the vessel, used the trawl 
to procure specimens of the rich ocean fauna. 

No other period of our long journey was so full of forced, 
varied, and richly rewarded labour, as these beautiful, me- 



SOUTHWARDS. 


405 


morable days in the Orleans Channel. And it may with 
justice be acknowledged that the rich results obtained are 
not ascnbable solely to the adamantine tenacity of the carto¬ 
grapher and the naturalists’ zeal for collections, but that 
the willing help given by the crew of the Antarctic and its 
officers should also have its meed of praise. Calls were made 
upon these men which went far beyond the requirements 
of their ordinary duties. Theie were now no free watches ; 
the scientific work went on uninterruptedly, both in the 



Photo by ] [0 A LARSEN. 

Robbing penguin nests in Antarctica. 

light night-time and during the day. But, without any sign 
of discontent, and sharing our interest and pleasure in the 
rich results of our labours, these fine seamen stood by us 
with a readiness as worthy of praise as is the intrepid courage 
with which they afterwards battled with the drifting ice 
in Erebus Gulf, and against the hardships of a long Polar 
winter. 

The heavier and more bulky part of the collections made 
at this time were lost with the Antarctic, But K. A. Andersson 
and Skottsberg had, with calm foresight, made a portable 



4 o 6 ANTARCTICA 

selection ol the most valuable parts of our scientific harvest 
some days before the vessel sank. This selection they canied 
to Paulet Island and it was thus saved. 

I cannot leave the chapter relating to our stay in the Orleans 
Channel without mentioning a “ catch ” oi practical im¬ 
portance that we made there. On several small islets we 
found rather large penguin colonies, belonging to but one 
species —Pygoscelis antarctica ,—where the egg-laying season 
was drawing to a close, and we seized every opportunity of 
enriching our supply of provisions with the dainty food. 
Once we took a whole boat’s load on board, and several casks 
were filled with eggs packed m salt. 

The egg of the penguin is about the size oi a goose-egg. 
On boiling, the white coagulates to an almost glass-clear 
mass (not of a porcelam-whitc like that of a hen’s egg), a 
circumstance which gave rise to some hesitation in the case 
of certain prejudiced individuals when the eggs came on the 
table. But the egg of the penguin is very palatable when 
boiled, and does not possess that peculiar taste which renders 
eider-eggs somewhat unpleasant. The rich supply of fresh 
eggs reacted upon the whole of our meals. The cook and 
the steward felt continually called upon to produce fresh dishes, 
and almost every day had its surprise in the form of a new 
omelette or a fine cake. 

Future Antarctic Expeditions, and especially those that 
mean to winter m these regions, cannot be too strongly 
advised to find out a penguin colony in good time and provide 
themselves with a plentiful supply of eggs. 




Mo/oliy] [C A, Lames' 

Pillai-shaped ioclvy islets neat Pendleton Island 


CHAPTER VII. 

THE WAY CLOSED. 

We looked forward lo meeting our comrades at Snow Hill—Antarctic Sound 
blocked by ice—Chief natural features of this channel—The Argentine Islands, 
Rosnmel Island—Captain Laisen Iries to force the ice—Fast in ihe ice— 
Christmas Day—Preparations foi a relief sledge party—Its equipment. 

The work ol mapping Orleans Channel was finished at 3 p.m. 
on the 5 th of December. Duse, who had been standing with the 
captain on the bridge taking bearings with the azimuth com¬ 
passes, closed his sketch-books and replaced his instruments 
in their cases. 

“ Now I’m ready,” said he, simply. 

The first engineer stood below on the deck talking with Karl 
Andreas Andersson, who was bending over pails and tins. 

“ Karlsen ! ” called the captain from the bridge, “ now we’ll 
be off to the wintering-station ' ” 

The engineer looked up, nodded and smiled contentedly. 



408 


ANTARCTICA. 


' This little episode’remains fiesh m my mind, together with 
the memory ot a beautiful Antarctic summer day. 

,>' The sea lay smooth as a mirror. Far away to the north 
on the other side of the broad channel could be seen (probably 
the effect of mirage) the snowy mountains of Livingstone 
Island. In towards Louis Philippe Land the fog lay thick, 
but a sun-illumined mountain slope could be seen through a 
rift high up m the bank of mist. 

The geographical problem of the connection between the 
Gerlache and the Orleans Channels had so taken up our 
interest, that it was not until the mystery was solved and the 
excitement over, that we began to realise that the meeting with 
our comrades at Snow Hill was near at hand. To them we 
should come as the bearers of letters from home, and as the 
brmgers of all manner of tidings from the outer world. And 
of them we should hear the description of the lonely winter 
life, with its sledge expeditions and work of observation. We 
hoped that all our fears for their well-being would prove un¬ 
founded, and that the meeting would be a happy one in every 
respect. 

We were also prepared to give them a hearty reception on 
board. Up in the Antarctic's foretop hung fresh legs of mutton 
and wild geese from Tierra del Fuego, with which dainties we 
meant to regale them on the occasion of our first dinner 
together. And we intended to decorate Noixlenskj old’s cabin 
with fresh branches of the evergreen beech of the Land of 
Fire, as a greeting from that land to which his first journey of 
exploration had been directed. 

In two or three days we should be at our destination. 

After riding out a southerly storm m lee of Louis Philippe 
Land, we approached the northern entrance of the sound lying 
between Joinville Island and the mainland, which is now called 
the Antarctic Sound. Away to larboard, towards Bransfield 
Strait, we saw large fields of pack-ice ; the open lead through 
which we steamed along the shore grew narrower and narrower, 
until, below Mount Bransfield, the ice-edge came close up to 
the land. The passage towards the sound seemed here to 



THE WAY CLOSED 409 

be quite blocked up ; outwards and forwards there was 
nothing but close ice ; only behind us was there a narrow road 
through which we could retreat, and even this threatened 
every moment to close at a spot where a headland of ice shot 
forwards towards the shoie. It seemed as though we had no 
other choice than to return and then endeavour to find a way 
outside Jomville Island, outside of the mass of ice we had to 
our north and north-east. 

But before doing so we determined to go on shore, m order 



Photo by] 


[0 A.. Lahtck. 

Worth coast o£ Louis Philipp Land. 


to be able to gain a better view of the ice-conditions m the 
Antarctic Sound. We lowered the pram, and K. A. 
Andersson, Skottsberg and I, with two men, rowed ashore 
just below Mount Bransheld. After ascending a pretty high 
ice-foot we crossed some rock-strewn gravel-ridges (moraine- 
walls), brought together by glacier ice, and whose materials 
were probably derived from the nunataks (or collection, of 
hilltops projecting through the land-ice), which have been 
called Mount Bransheld. When we came to this spot, Skotts¬ 
berg stayed to collect mosses and lichens, whilst Andersson 



410 ANTARCTICA. 

and myself went further on across the inland ice m the direc¬ 
tion of the channel. 

The melting of the snow which, according to old accounts, 
is inconsiderable m South Polar regions, could be here every¬ 
where observed. The hard surface-snow of the inland-ice 
was m many places covered by overlapping sheets of slippery 
ice, and streams of snow-water rippled through the snow¬ 
drifts neai the moraine walls 

The inland ice was traversed by numerous perpendicular 
crevasses, but it was only exceptionally that they were more 
than a yard wide. Prudence compelled us to march with 
great caution however, as the greater part of the fissures were 
concealed under treacherous bridges oi snow. When we bent 
over the edge of one of these crevasses, we could perceive 
beneath the white arch the beautiful deep-blue shimmer of 
the ice-walls, which, lower down, were lost in formless gloom. 

After passing a couple of the undulations ol the billowy ice, 
we gained at last an unobstructed view towards the inner 
part of the channel. Here I saw for the first time a scene 
which, from a point somewhat further southwards, was many 
times to meet my gaze during the lonely days of a forced 
wintering in these tracts. 

The land view northwards towards Bransfield Strait was 
closed by the low, smooth snowy round of d’Urville Island. 
From the point where we stood, this low icy hill appeared to 
be merely a far-pro] ecting headland belonging to Joinville 
Island, but during the course of the next few weeks’ cruising 
along the north coast of this latter place we were able to note 
that the land first named constituted a little, but quite inde¬ 
pendent, island, concealed by a perfectly smooth covering 
of ice sloping down to the sea. To this island we gave the 
name of the French explorer who was the first to map these 
coasts. 

Towards the east, the boundary of the Antarctic Sound 
is formed by the flat ice-caps of Joinville and Dundee 
Islands, where the smooth roundings of the snowy coverings, 
especially on the first-named and larger island, were broken by 



THE WAY CLOSED 411 

projecting mountain tops, nearly all of which were also wrapped 
m snow. 

’ In the southernmost part of the channel lie three islands, so 
placed, that they divide the extreme end of the sound into three 
smaller entrances directed towards the Erebus and Terror 
Gulf. Two of the islands, which he close to each other and 
are sepaiated from the mainland by quite a narrow channel, 
we have called the Argentine Islands (Uruguay Island and 
Inzar Island) after the land which gave our Expedition such 
prompt and great assistance. 

The third island occupies the middle of the channel and lies 
between the Argentine Islands and Dundee Island. Its form 
is very characteristic, with high, perpendicular coasts and a 
low, conical top. This little island lies quite by itself, and, 
in consequence of its high and easily recognisable form, can 
easily be marked even at considerable distances, both when 
approaching it from the Erebus Gulf and also on nearing the 
channel from Bransfield Strait. It must, therefore, be this 
island which Dumont d’Urville saw and placed in his chart 
under the name of Rosamel Island, in the sound between Join- 
ville Island and Louis Philippe Land.* 

Past the Aigentine Islands and Rosamel Island we had an 
unobstructed view lor some distance across the Erebus and 
Terror Gulf, which now presented itself as a dazzlingly white 
expanse of ice without a single streak of open water. The 
Antarctic Sound, too, north of the small islands, was filled 
for the greater part of its extent with thick pack-ice, but close 
to Joinville Island some extensive leads could be observed, 
with narrow lanes stretching right through the pack-ice towards 
Mount Bransfield, where the Antarctic now lay. Thus it 
appeared that, even should it be possible to force a passage 
through the ice down to Rosamel Island, the way to the Gulf 
would still be blocked by close pack-ice. 

On returning to the ship at 4 p.m., and informing the captain 

* L’ile haute qui semblait occuper la moiti^ du canal laisse entie les deux grandes 
Lenes, iepit le nom d’lle Rosamel.”—Dumont d’Urville, “Voyage ait Pole Sud,” 
Tome II p. 148. 



412 


ANTARCTICA. 


of the result of our reconnoitring, he determined to make an 
attempt to ram his way into the channel. 

Whenever it was a question of a really serious forcing of the 
ice, Larsen himself always went up into the crow’s nest and 
took the ship in hand. The mates and the seamen had only 
one opinion of Larsen’s handling of the vessel under such cir¬ 
cumstances, and that was, that he played billiards with the 
small ice-floes in a superlative manner. He was never so 
much in Ins element as when up in the crow’s-nest, with a 
brown comforter twisted round his neck, his fur cap drawn down 
over his ears, and his weather-bitten features visible over the 
edge of the barrel. He is constantly in motion. Now he 
is looking through the glass to find a way to a distant lead, 
now he is calculating the probable effects of the next bump 
against the piece of ice in front of our bows ; now he is hanging 
over the edge of the nest with all his interest concentrated 
upon a treacherous icc-foot, which projects under the vessel’s 
stern and threatens the propeller. He lings down to the 
engine-room, and the double-bladed propeller stops instantly 
in a perpendicular and safe position. The ship glides past the 
ice-foot and the danger is past. Two strokes of the bell and 
her speed increases. The captain’s orders to the steersman 
come thick and fast, and the wheel whirls round almost in¬ 
cessantly. “ Hard-a-starboard ! Steady ! Port! ” One 
stroke of the bell—the engine stops, and the boat glides 
noiselessly along through the little lead towards the piece of 
ice that blocks the way. She strikes, and, with a crash and a 
grating sound, bores her bows a foot or so into the edge of the 
ice. The shock runs shivering along the heavy hull of the 
vessel and flies to the top of the mainmast, where the crow’s- 
nest is set swinging. 

But the piece of ice is still there. The ship backs and 
makes a new assault. The hindering ice begins to twist 
round and to move a little to one side. The smaller pieces 
in the immediate neighbourhood spin round, whilst the 
water streams and bubbles about them. The third attack is 
successful, and the big piece of ice scrapes and rattles along 



THE WAY CLOSED. 


413 

the sides of the vessel as she presses forward amidst the 
“ small ice.” 

By degrees we came into more open ice, and at last reached 
the great leads under Jomville Island. By 9 p.m. we were 
down at the small islands, but there we were stayed by a close 
mass of pack-ice which filled the Erebus Gull as far as could 
be descried from the crow’s-nest. But the easternmost portion 
of Uruguay Island was, for the moment, free of ice, and I 
landed here late in the evening in order to make some geo- 



Photo iff] [Nobi>ekshjoM3, January, 1803 

Rosamel Island 

logical investigations. Just at this spot the island rises per¬ 
pendicularly out of the sea, and the wild inaccessibleness of 
the lofty precipice corresponds very well with the chaotic and 
gloomy appearance of the place, which consists of an irregular 
mass of dark-coloured volcanic tuff built up of basalt-blocks, 
intersected by lighter, brick or chocolate-red banks. 

High up near the topmost verge a large number of birds 
were wheeling about the projecting rocks. The distance was 
so great that they looked like mere small, pale snow-flakes, 
but their perfectly white colour and vigorous, elegant flight 
made it easy to recognise them. It was a flock of ice petrels 



4 i 4 ANTARCTICA 

(.Pagodroma mvca), who must certainly have had their breed- 
mg-placc tip there. 

As tlieie was no possibility—lor the present, at least—of 
getting [further towards the Gull in this direction, Larsen 
began early the next morning (December 8tli) to force his 
way out oi the sound again, intending to endeavour to find a 
passage^ outside of Jomville Island. Sometimes our progress 
could be reckoned by inches only, but at last we forced our 
way through, and then steamed, amid mist and silow-hazc, 
round d’Urville Island and a little way along the north coast 
of Joinville Island. But m the neighbourhood of Francaise 
Point we once more encountered the edge of the pack-ice. 
Thus our progress was prevented m this direction too. The 
only thing lclt foi us to do was to follow the icc-cdgc—which 
here stretched from J omvillc Island nortliwai ds out to Brans- 
field Strait—m order to see if we could anywhere find an 
opening towards the east, and by means of talcing a circuitous 
route discover a passage leading in a southerly direction. 

I have written in my diary undei the dates :— 

“ December 9 th .—Our prospects of reaching the wintering- 
station by an easterly course do not appear very bright. I 
have begun to consider the possibility of reaching Snow Hill 
by an overland route from the channel inside J omville Island, 
or from Cape Roquemaurel,” 

“ December xo th .—In the forenoon we were able to hold an 
easterly couise, but we soon discovered that we had only come 
into a bay of the close pack-ice. Were therefore obliged to 
return towards the north-west and north. Much thick 
pressure-ice. 

“ We have now seriously discussed the plan of trying a 
land route, the one from Cape Roquemaurel seeming the best. 
Duse wishes to be of the party. 

“We gained a clear view of the Elephant Islands this 
morning.” 

During the next few days we lay fast in the pack-ice, drifting 
passively along with it. We were carried towards the north¬ 
east—that is, each day further and further away from our 



THE WAY CLOSED 


4*5 

destination. There was nothing we could do but wait, and 
use these days of imprisonment to the best advantage. Our 
sounding apparatus was m constant use, and sometimes the 
wires with the reversing thermometers and deep-sea water- 
bottles were going up and down the whole day in the small 
patches of open water by the side of the vessel. 

During our imprisonment in the pack-ice we also began to 
make preparations for the sledge-journey to Snow Hill, every 
one being willing to help m equipping us who were to leave 
the vessel, m the best possible way. The third mate mended 
our shoes, the smith shod the ski-sledge, the sail-maker sewed 
bread-sacks, etc. 

We had now quite made up our plan foi the journey. We 
intended to find some suitable starting-point m Louis Philippe 
Land, as soon as ever we were clear of the ice. At this place 
the sledge-party, consisting of Duse and myself, and the 
seaman Grunden who had volunteered to join us, was to be 
set on shore with the necessary equipment. It would then 
be our task to endeavour to reach the party at Snow Hill, 
and, m the event of the Antarctic not succeeding m reaching 
the winter-station before an appointed day, we were to bring 
Nordenskjold and his companions back to our starting point, 
to which place the ship should return at the close of the 
summer m order to fetch off the party. 

The one thing about which we were not as yet quite clear 
was where we should fix the starting point of the sledge-ex¬ 
pedition. In the neighbourhood of Mount Bransfield there 
was every likelihood of our being able to find a suitable land¬ 
ing-place, and the inland ice bordering the Antarctic Sound 
consisted of low, smooth, rounded surfaces that actually seemed 
to invite us to sledge-journeys. 

But we were tempted by another spot, too, and one con¬ 
siderably nearer to Snow Hill, viz., a bay at the entrance to 
the Orleans Channel, south of Cape Roquemaurel. During 
Duse’s cartographical labours we had noticed that the cha¬ 
racter of the inland-ice there was the reverse of what usually 
existed in that mountainous and broken country, and that it 



ANTARCTICA. 


4x6 

rose gently and equally from the interior of the bay mentioned 
up to a level surface Tins gave us reason to think that the 
land here was very narrow and pretty low, and that the 
land-ice sloped similarly on both sides from coast to coast. 
Bearing this in mind we weie much tempted to start from the 
bay mentioned above, south of Cape Roqucmaurel 

On the evening of the 19th we weie once more off the north 
coast of jomville Island. The ice here was as impenetrable 
as on the occasion of our first visit eleven days before, and it 
had even extended itself I'm tiler to the west. A renewed 
reconnoitring of the ice-conditions 111 the Antarctic Channel 
was equally depressing in its results, for a good way north of 
the spot leached by us on the 7th our road was barred by a 
close pack of ice Had any on board still entertained doubts 
of the necessity of attempting to reach Snow Hill by means 
of a sledge-]ourney, tlieir hesitation vanished completely at 
the sight of the impenetrable pack-ice that still covered the 
Erebus and Tenor Gull. 

We lay here fast in the ice over Christmas—a Yule spent 
amid dazzling sunshine, but darkened by gloomy apprehen¬ 
sions. Day after day the same cloudless, calm, sunny weather 
prevailed—weather so clear that from the crow’s-nest we 
could see Cockburn Island far away to the south. The distance 
was so great that the precipitous shore lay hidden below the 
horizon, but tlie plateau and the conical peak were easily dis¬ 
tinguishable. Cockburn Island ! That was almost the same 
thing as Snow Hill—only twelve miles from the wintering 
station. Every time our comrades there looked out of the 
windows of tlieir sleeping rooms, or came out of the house, they 
could not help but immediately catch sight of this immense 
sea-mark at the entrance of the Admiralty Sound or 
Admiralty Inlet, as we then called it. When we stood up 
in the crow’s-nest and looked at the dark little speck that 
rose far away amidst the world of whiteness, we felt more 
deeply than ever the bitterness of our impotence. Ever since 
the fight with the ice began we had been hoping for a change, 
for an opening in the ice, for a path southwards, that would 



THE WAY CLOSED. 


4 i 7 


at least enable us to keep Christmas together. And now, 
the goal almost within sight, we lay imprisoned here, while 
the days went past, and the sun, whose nightly couise had 
grown wondrously short, glided past its meridian, and left 
us •' cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in to saucy doubts and 
fears.” 

Skottsberg took the fresh green branches of beech which we 
had brought with us from Tierra del Fuego for the purpose of 
decorating Nordenskjold’s cabin, and made garlands with 
them for the lamps m the gun-room as a kind of reminder 
that it was Yule-tide. On Christmas Eve we all assembled 
in the gun-room, and Larsen, in a few hearty words, proposed, 
the health of our comrades at Snow Hill We sat there a long 
time together, singing and joking, but on the whole, it was a 
sad Christmas. 

There was only one thing that could enliven us during 
these days and that was the thought of the approaching sledge 
journey. The work of preparation was now nearly completed, 
and on Boxing Day we rammed our way northwards out of 
the ice again, in order to be able to choose our starting-point 
near the entrance of the Orleans Channel. 

But on nearer examination it was found that the mland- 
ice at the bay before mentioned, south of Cape Roquemaurel, 
was exceedingly difficult of access, and we were obliged to relin¬ 
quish the idea of starting from this point and to return to the 
Antarctic Sound. On the way to the latter place, on the 
28th of December, I left another letter at Astrolabe Island, 
with further information concerning the events of the last few 
weeks. The signal-post was now coloured red in order to stand 
out well against both the white snow and the black rocks, and 
I painted a great round spot in red on the perpendicular face 
of the cliff inside the headland where the post stands. 

The following forenoon (December z9th) we reconnoitred 
the coast north of Mount Bransfield, but we found no good 
landing-place here either, so we steamed into the sound, 
m order to examine the condition of things in a bay that 
Captain Larsen had recommended to us the whole time. 

27 



418 


ANTARCTICA. 


At 6 p m. I went on shore, taking with me the greater part 
of the sledge-equipment and a part of the depot provisions, 
the boat returning to the ship m order to bring off Duse, 
Grunden, and the rest of the baggage. 

During the row across the mouth of the bay I had an oppor¬ 
tunity of looking around me a little more. 

At the further end of the inlet, which runs a mile or two 
into the land in a south-westerly direction, a hue valley- 
glacier descends into the sea, the valley being flanked by 
steep, sharp-ridged mountains. On the north-west side of 
the bay the coast-line consists of the Chinese wall of the 
inland-ice—a steep wall of ice, traversed by fissures and 
crevasses, the dark rock being seen in only a very few places. 
The opposite side of the bay presents quite a different appear¬ 
ance, the inland-ice here falling with an even slope down to 
a snow-free foreland of small hills. 

It was upon this snow-free lowland that we intended to 
make our provision-depot, in order afterwards to begin our 
sledge-journey up the slope of the land-ice. 

On coining nearer we saw that all the hills were occupied 
by flocks ol birds, and when I was left alone on the shore I 
took a turn up towards the ice. 

I must most certainly have been the first man whose pre¬ 
sence ever disturbed this immense community of birds. 
Nearest the shore, scattered groups ol phlegmatic, good- 
natured />a^«a-penguins had their breeding places, and 
these birds voluntarily, although with an anxious hiss, got out 
of my way as I came near their nests. But on the rock- 
bestrewn hills further inland lived an irritable, choleric race. 
Thousands upon thousands of A deli a: penguins were there, 
breeding in immense, close groups. When I came near one 
of these breeding-places, the old penguins at once rushed 
upon me with an angry, hoarse cackling the most fiery 
pecking at my legs, and making deep scratches in my boots. 

On climbing tlie steepest part of the slope * and coming to 

* At the edge of the land-ice some parts of the snow had a more or less well-marked 
rose-red colour, evidently attributable to snow-algee. This was the fust and only 
time during our expedition that “red-snow” was observed on theAntaictic lantl-tce. 



THE WAY CLOSED 


419 


a little moraine-ridge sticking out of the ice, I found that 
the mland-ice extended pretty evenly, although with small 
undulations, some distance in a south-westerly direction past 
a lofty, pyramidal nunatak. This promised well for the 
beginning of our journey. 

Out in the bay I could see the boat coming back with my 
two companions, and we soon had our equipment safely 
landed, Andreasen, who had charge of the boat, and his 
men helping us to carry the heaviest things to the place where 
we intended to establish our depfit. The sailors once more 
wished us good-luck on our enterprise, and returned to the 
ship. 

We had a little more work to do ere we had the depdt in 
order. When it was covered with an old tarpaulin and 
fastened by means of ropes attached to blocks of stone, we 
were ready to load our sledge and prepare for the start. 

* * * * * * * 

At this moment, when we are about to begin the sledge 
journey, I will make a moment’s pause m order to devote a 
few words to the description of our equipment. 

All the utensils intended for use on sledge-journeys had 
been taken on shore at the wintering-station, as it lay outside 
of the original plan of work for the division of the Expedition 
that was on the ship to undertake such sledge-trips. Thus 
our party had been obliged to content itself with picking out 
and arranging the things we succeeded in finding on the 
vessel. 

Our first care was to get a good ski-sledge. One had been 
made on board for my journey to Lago Fagnano, and this 
had now been strengthened by being shod with hoop-iron. It 
went pretty light m the thawing weather of the first journey 
we now undertook, but in October, on the occasion of our 
second journey southwards, when we travelled, as a rule, with 
the temperature far below freezing-point, the rusty iron made 
the going insufferably heavy. 

The two sleeping-bags of guanaco-skin, made for Wenners- 
gaard and myself on the Fagnano expedition, were now used 

27* 



420 


ANTARCTICA. 


by Grunden and me, while Duse had one made of some 
guanaco-skin found on board. We Look, in addition, my 
little two-man’s tent, where the space for thiee was small 
enough. 

For the preparation of our food we took two “ Primus ” petro¬ 
leum stoves with xo litres (2'2 gallons) of oil, and two 
aluminium pots. We had also three soup-plates of enamelled 
iron, and the same number of spoons; but plates, cups, forks 
and teaspoons we regarded as unnecessary, burdensome 
luxuries. 

We took in addition a number of useful and necessary 
things, such as a Mauser pistol and cartridges, two field- 
glasses, snow-spectacles, a supply of medicine, matches in 
soldered-up boxes, boots and shoes, etc. In the ship’s library 
there were only two descriptions of travels containing plans 
of equipment which could serve as a guide for us in the cal¬ 
culation of our provision-supply. These were A. E. Nor- 
denslcjold’s account of his journey over the ice of Greenland 
in 1883, and Nansen’s “ Across Greenland on Skis.” We 
made up our plan of provisioning by the help of these two 
books, but with the essential modification that we made our 
daily rations (-1267 grammes-lbs.) considerably larger 
than Nansen’s, especially (circa 1 kilogramme —2^ lbs.). He 
had used specially concentrated, water-free provisions which 
we could not get. 

The daily ration for one man had the following composition : 
Bread, 600 grammes; margarine, 67 gr.; tinned meat and 
fish, 413 gr. ; sugar, 27 gr. ; coffee, 20 gr. ; chocolate and cocoa, 
68 gr. ; tinned soup, 72 gr. ; Total—1,267 gr. (100 grammes 
= fi)- lb.). Our supply of provisions, calculated m accordance 
with the above, for three men for a period of 25 days, was 
composed as follows •— 

Hard rye-bread, 7 kilogrammes; cakes, 1 kg.; ship’s bis¬ 
cuits, 35 kg. ; tinned meat, 30 kg. ; tinned mackerel, x kg. ; 
margarine, 5 kg. ; sugar, 2 kg. ; coffee, x\ kg. ; cocoa, \ kg. ; 
chocolate, 4^ kg, ; tea, {■ kg, ; dried preserved soups, f kg, ; 
beef-tea capsules, W kg. ; dried fruits, i£ kg. ; condensed milk, 



THE WAY CLOSED 


421 


1 kg. ; oatmeal, *i- kg. ; fruit jellies, -fa kg ; dried greens, 1 kg. ; 
salt, -jV kg. ; cognac, kg. ; Total—93.7 kg. 

Our total equipment, sledge and skis included, had a gross 
weight of 240-5 kg. (530 lbs.). 

As I have already mentioned, a dcp6t had been established 
at the place where we landed, to provide against possible future 
needs. Its contents were:— Ship’s bread, 225 kilogrammes; 
■margarine, 30 kg. ; tinned meat, 95 kg. ; preserved herrings 
and other fish, 105 kg.; sugar, 10 kg. ; coffee, 5 kg. ; cocoa, 
5 kg ; tea, 1 kg. ; tinned soups, 35 kg ; dried fruits, 3 kg.; 
condensed milk, 8 kg.; barley, 25 kg. ; dried greens, 12 kg. ; 
salt, 7 kg ; Tota—566 kg. (1 kg. = 2'204 lbs.). 

The contents of the depfit were intended for us and the 
members of the party at the wintering station during the 
period of waiting for the return of the Antarctic (see account 
of the agreement made with Larsen), or for nine men during 
a period of two months. Owing to a fault of mine, the quan¬ 
tity of bread was less than it should have been ( i.e ., 270 kg.), 
and this deficit was afterwards felt very much. 

Besides these provisions, the dep6t also contained a large 
tent and a table, petroleum, candles, spirits of wine, some 
reserve clothes, etc. 

In order to be able to rightly criticise the scantiness of 
these supplies, the reader must first understand the peculiar 
position in which we were. It is true that the ice-conditions 
were so adverse that this effort to reach .Snow Hill by means 
of a sledge-party had become a matter of necessity. But, on 
the other hand, we did not consider that we had reason to 
quite relinquish our early optimistic views of the possibilities 
of scientific work during the summer. It is an old Antarctic 
experience that relatively ice-free water of considerable 
extent can often be reached after having once penetiated a 
belt of close pack-ice of considerable width. The thick 
masses of pack-ice which now filled the Erebus and Terror 
Gulf made us suppose that there was, in all probability, a 
corresponding extensive break m the ice-field further to the 
south ; so that, on leaving the Antarctic, we spoke confi- 



422 


ANTARCTICA. 


dently of our all meeting at the wintering-station. In such 
a case, and after the Snow Hill party had been taken on board, 
the question would probably arise of undertaking a journey 
further to the south, with the possibility of the vessel being 
enclosed in the ice, when every bit of our none too rich supply 
of provisions and clothes would be greatly needed. Con¬ 
sequently, we had no desire to embarrass Nordcnsk]old’s 
future plans by forming here a large and valuable depot, the 
contents of which would have to be taken on board again ere 
any eventual southern expedition could be made. 

Before leaving the vessel I made the following written 
agreement with Captain Larsen :— 

“ i. In the event of the Antarctic alone reaching the station. 
—Should the land-party not have arrived before the 
25th January it must be taken for granted that it 
has found the road blocked, and the party shall be 
brought off from the depot place. 

“2, In the event of the land-party alone reaching the 
station .—Should the Antarctic not have communi¬ 
cated with the winteiing-station before February 
10th, all the men there shall travel overland to the 
depot place. The Antarctic will then have to call 
at the depot place during the period, February 25th 
—March 10th, before which last date the search for 
the party at the depot place should not be relin¬ 
quished, unless in consequence of imperative neces¬ 
sity” 

These, then, were the presuppositions that guided our 
deliberations ere we commenced the attempt to reach Snow 
Hill Island by way of the inland ice. 




Photo by] 


[S A. Dl'SE 

Breaking up camp after the snow-storm of Jan S-II 


CHAPTER VIII. 

IN AN UNKNOWN ARCHIPELAGO. 

Our last view of the Antarctic—Close sleeping quatters—The Bay of the Thousand 
Icebeigs—Wet going acioss the sea-tee—On the land-ice again—The way closed I 
--The leturn journey to the dep&t place 

We find it impossible to draw all our heavy load at one 
journey up the steepest part of the slope of the land-ice. 
We make two trips of it, and it is still a burdensome task. 
Two men are harnessed in front of the sledge, and the 
third pushes behind, and we strain and we haul, with a 
hearty tug all together, and we go slowly upwards until, 
at last, we have all the baggage gathered at the place we 
had fixed upon as our camping-ground. Here, at 181 metres 
(600 feet) above the sea, the land-ice begins to be rounded 
off into easier ascents, so that we intend trying to draw 
the entire burden at once, when we start on the morrow 
Far away m the channel we can still see a little dark 





424 ANTARCTICA 

specie amid the drift-ice. It is the Antarctic, which is picking 
its way eastward amidst the small floes, in order to once 
more try to find a passage outside Jomville Island. 

But there is little time to stand looking alter the old 
Antarctic , lor we have to see how we can manage to place 
ourselves with our sleeping-bags inside ol the little tent. 
Grunden and I he down with our feet towards the door 
side ol the tent, and Duse, alter having closed the opening, 
squeezes himself down with his leet in the opposite direction. 
Wc aie now liteially “ stowed ” away, lor there is no! a hand’s 
breadth of the floor that is not occupied by our slecpmg- 
saclts, and the long sides of the tent bulge out under the 
pressure of Grundcn’s body and mine. But we arc glad 
that the attempt has succeeded so well, and we pull our 
night-caps over our eyes to protect them from the light, 
tor all these preparations have taken us until four m the 
morning ere they are completed. 

We crept out ol om bags about one o’clock the next after¬ 
noon, and a couple of hours latei we have breakfasted, taken 
down the tent and loaded all our baggage on the sledge. 
Wc had feared that the load would be too heavy, and that 
we should be obliged to leave a part of the provisions behind 
us; but we managed pretty -well m the parts where the ice 
was level, It was toilsome work up the slopes, of course, 
but, on the whole, wc were very much contented with this 
first experience of ours in drawing sledges. 

One’s thoughts dwell mostly upon three subjects while 
one marches along, and stamps, and tugs away at the sledge— 
the good food we shall get when the day’s drudgery is over 
the distance we have covered, and the condition of the next 
stretch of road. According to Ross’ chart of the Erebus 
and Terror Gulf, we have calculated that wc should keep a 
south south-westerly course in order to come to the inner 
part of Sidney Herbert Bay. Now we reckon and calculate 
what time will be necessary to reach that place, and all our 
calculations resolve themselves into a hope that wc may 
continue to have the same good, level going. 



IN AN UNKNOWN ARCHIPELAGO. 


425 

The land-ice rises and falls in irregular, flat waves, and 
here and there dark, snow-free, pointed or sharp-ridged 
hill-tops rise out of the mantling snow. Right m front of us 
lies a snow-ndge, higher than the preceding ones. We reach 
the top and a new view begins to meet our eyes—distant 
chains of mountains and flattened snowy cupolas bounded 
by dark precipices. But what is that below us ? We stand 
silent and perplexed, and gaze at the new and wonderful 
scene. Mile upon mile of snowy plain, such as we have 
never seen before, meets our eyes ; one can actually imagine that 
a gigantic snow-clad city lies before us, with houses, and 
palaces m thousands, and in hundreds of changing, irregular 
forms—towers and spires, and all the wonders of the world. 

At first sight it really appears incomprehensible, but it 
must be, after all, a bay covered with a frozen-m mass of 
numberless icebergs. It would seem as though the bay 
had been a long time covered with such a continuous mantle 
of ice—for several years at least—and as though 
the land ice, whose long sloping termination everywhere 
forms the shore of the bay, had not been able to get rid of its 
superfluous mass by calving,* since the bay froze. It had 
consequently moved slowly further and further out into the 
bay, pushing aside and pressing together the sea-ice with 
irresistible force, I had never before been able even to 
imagine such a picture of the sovereign dominion of ice, as 
the one offered by this landscape The sea with its innumer¬ 
able icebergs and hummocks, and its thick, ancient covering 
of ice (which m parts lay split and squeezed together by 
the pressure from the still mightier covering of the land-ice)— 
this sea was a frozen world which awakened memories of 
what has been written about the hypothetical paleocrystic 
ice ot the North Polar Sea—ice' which seems to be a reality 
in a bay of the Antarctic mainland. 

Now there was an end to our hopes of a good road to Snow 
Hill. The coast swung round the new bay m a wide sweep 

* Calving—“ This word may (also) he applied to an ueberg bt caking off a glacier ” 
The Antaictic Manual, 1901. 



ANTARCTICA. 


426 

to the west, and quite near our front the surface of the land- 
ice began to be uneven and full of yawning crevasses, while, 
on the further side of the bay, the broken ice-ridges of the 
mountains pressed on light down to the shore. To continue 
the journey round the bay on the land-ice would be an ex¬ 
tremely toilsome and time-wasting task; it even seemed 
doubtful if we should be able to make our way amongst the 
mountain-tops and glacier-crevasses. Everything pointed 
to the necessity of choosing another road ; to go down to, 
and through the labyrinth of, the frozen city—out to the 
smoother sea-ice of which we could catch a distant glimpse, 
and onwards to the land whose dark precipitous shores rose 
furthest south-wards. But we did not quite know where we 
were. Ross’ chart of the Erebus and Terror Gulf gave no 
indication of the existence of this extensive stretch of frozen 
water which we saw before us. The bay which was nearest 
broadened into a large fiord, which separated us from the 
land farthest to the south, and which must have com¬ 
munication with the open sea towards the south-east, in 
which direction the view was closed by an intervening 
mountain ridge. But was this fiord the same bay which 
on Ross’ chart is called Sidney Herbert Bay ? Duse, who 
had been in this last-named bay the preceding summer with 
the Antarctic, could not recognise anything of what he saw 
here. So we determined to camp where we were, intending 
the next day to climb the mountain-ridge to the south¬ 
east m order to obtain a better idea of the sLate of t hin gs. 

When we awoke the following morning, the sun shone down 
from the now cloudless sky with blinding splendour upon 
the snow landscape and the Bay of the Thousand Icebergs. 
While climbing the ridge we all had snow-glasses on, but when 
we reached the top, Duse took his off m order fo see better 
when taking bearings and making sketches for his carto¬ 
graphical work. But he afterwards paid dearly for this 
rashness, and in a way that incited us all to the greatest 
caution for the future. 

Even from the mountain top the view .towards the sea 



IN AN UNKNOWN ARCHIPELAGO 


427 


was still obstructed by high land further away in a south¬ 
easterly direction. But what we saw was instructive in 
many respects : the ice in the great fiord was clearly unbroken, 
with only a few icebergs sticking up out of the sea-ice. 
The land on the further side of the fiord was, for the most 
part, inaccessible; with precipitous, dark coast-cliffs, but 
in one place the land-ice appeared to fall with an even slope 
down to the sea. Here, then, was a possibility of coming 
up on the land-ice which seemed to stretch away, in 
even, rounded forms, to a completely snow-covered, conical 
mountain-top, whose contours, but dimly visible against 
the light sky, rose above all the surrounding country. That 
enormous, ice-bemantlcd cone must be the Mount Haddington 
of Ross’ chart. Over there lies Admiralty Inlet and Snow 
Hill station ! And the fiord before us must, after all, be 
Sidney Herbert Bay. 

Our plan was now clear. We should go over the sea-ice 
to the point on the southern land where we could see a way 
up on to the land-ice, and then pursue our route past Mount 
Haddington on to Admiralty Inlet. We did not know 
whether the stretch of water just named was a sound or a bay, 
and we left it to the future to decide how we should manage 
to cross it. 

O11 our return to the tent, we loaded the sledge and started 
for the bay. We put on our skis for the first time, and went 
at a brisk pace down the long, smooth slope to the shore. 
The last hundred yards of the land-ice were troublesome 
enough, however; the snow there being so soft that the 
sledge cut through it and stuck fast, time after time. Down 
on the sea-icc things were quite as bad We now found 
ourselves in the midst of the extensive labyrinth of icebergs, 
and it appeared doubtful if we could find a way through 
it, so we determined to camp, and while Duse put up the 
tent, Grunden and I went ahead on skis in order to 
reconnoitre. After picking our way for a good while between 
innumerable hummocks which obstructed the view in every 
direction, we at last reached a pretty lofty iceberg, up which 



428 ANTARCTICA. 

we climbed, and then wc saw to our great joy, that the 
hummocks soon thinned out m the direction ol our route. 

On returning to the tent Duse informed me that he had 
suddenly became snow-blind of the left eye, which smarted 
exceedingly. I dropped in a solution of sulphate of zme 
and boracic acid, the only remedy for affections of the eyes 
that I had with me. Duse found that it assuaged the pain 
a great deal and, as a preventive measure, I afteiwards 
dropped some of the solution into my own eyes and Grundcn’s 
every day. 

On awaking the next afternoon—for it was three a.m. 
on New Year’s morning when we crept to bed—Duse’s bad 
eye was exceedingly painful, and very sensitive to light. In 
addition to this drawback, the sun had made the snow so 
loose that we sunk in it down to our hips, and we found our¬ 
selves obliged to lie still till sunset, Duse employing the 
time to make a shade for his eye with a piece of dark- 
coloured cloth, 

We made a fresh start at ten p m., the going being at first 
wretched, but matters very soon grew better, and after a 
few hours’ brisk marching we reached the great fiord; the place 
where this opened into the Erebus and Terror Gull now 
lying visible before us. To the right lay an island with high, 
snow-free cliffs, whose clearly marked, slightly concave strati¬ 
fication enticed me to make a closer investigation of the 
place, and while my companions rested for a while by the sledge, 
I turned a little way aside to the island. I had never so plainly 
perceived the excellence of skis as on this occasion. A person 
on foot would have gone through the newly-formed ice on 
the foot-deep surface-pools at every step, whilst tine skis 
glided lightly and sustainingly over its surface. 

The rocks of the island consist of a coarse volcanic tuff. 
Rather considerable streams ran from the melted snow and 
ice and flung themselves down the dark precipices and the 
immense tali or heaps of rocks, at their base, and fell in 
foaming cascades to the shore. 

On this occasion we camped out on the ice of the fiord. 



IN AN UNKNOWN ARCHIPELAGO. 429 

We had now made the arrangement that we should rest 
during the days, and work at night, the going being better then, 
and the light less troublesome. When our camp broke 
up again on the evening of the 2nd January, we still had a 
northerly wind, and, with the aid of a long bamboo ski-staff 
as mast and two short sticks as yards, we fitted up the tent- 
floor as a sail for the sledge, and had a droll sailing-trip for 
a couple of hours, the sledge sometimes going so fast that it 
was as much as wc could do to keep up with it. When the 
gusts came, she quite jumped along, so that one was obliged 
to leap out of the way to avoid being run down. But our 
joy was of short duration, The wind fell more and more, 
and all of a sudden it threw our sail aback, and we had to 
trudge onwards again in the endeavour to reach the land 
which rose before us. We soon came once more amidst 
numerous icebergs and immense deep ponds formed by the 
melted ice, and here we had icy-cold foot baths up to the 
knee, and much ado to free the sledge from the sludge, into 
which it often stuck fast. It begins to snow, and plunging 
through water and sludge wc move on slowly towards an island, 
which sometimes disappears in the whirling snow. We reach 
it at length, but the steep walls of tuff do not look inviting 
and we determine to make at once for the mainland, which 
cannot be many hundi ed yards away, although it is quite con¬ 
cealed in a fog of snow. Worn out with fifteen hours’ exertion, 
dripping with water and shivering with cold, but exceedingly 
glad to have something hard and dry once more beneath 
onr feet, we at length stand on the low edge of the inland-ice. 
The “ Primus ” is soon buzzing its cheerful song m our 
little tent, and after eating and taking a glass of cognac, we 
creep into our wet sleeping-bags, where fatigue soon renders 
us insensible to cold and moisture. 

On awaking at n at night (Jan. 3rd.), our first thought 
was of drying our soaked baggage, and when the sun rose, 
our camping ground was changed to an exhibition of 
sleeping-bags, clothes, stockings, mittens and night-caps, 
spread out on the tent and the sledge, or hung up on ropes 



430 


ANTARCTICA. 


stretched between the skis, whilst we ourselves walked about 
in our few remaining garments, which were allowed to dry 
on us. Our spirits rose as the clothes dried, and we began 
to entertain the liveliest expectations of what the next few 
days would bring forth. Sidney Herbert Bay now lay behind 
us. It is tiue that it seemed somewhat peculiar that the 
land between our starting point and the Bay of the Thousand 
Icebergs had been so narrow, but we felt certain that the 
broad fiord now behind us to the north, must be Sidney 
Herbert Bay, unless it was quite a new fiord which is not 
marked in Ross’ chart. We were now in hopes of being able 
to travel along the inland ice all the way to Admiralty 
Inlet. It would be a journey across many ice-ridges round 
Mount Haddington’s immense base, but we should at least 
be able to march on dry land, until we came to the stretch 
of water on the further side of which the wintering-station 
lay. 

It is very strange, now that all our adventures and 
difficulties are things of the past, to remember with what 
feelings we took our departure from the “ Clothes-drymg 
Camp.” We hoped to be at the station in eight or ten days. 
Probably we might be obliged to propose to our comrades 
there that we should all return northwards as soon as possible, 
before the ice became quite impracticable. Still, we might 
be so fortunate as to find that the Antarctic had discovered 
a way through the pack-ice and then, of course, we should all 
meet at Snow Hill. At any rate, we expected to learn very 
soon how matters stood at the wintering station. We began 
to recall the news we had for our comrades from the outside 
world, and discussed how we should be best able to com¬ 
municate to Nordenskjold the sad tidings of his father’s 
death 

We began our ascent of the inland ice about eight o’clock 
on the evening of the 4th January. The snow was soft, 
and the sledge went heavily, and when we had come a good 
way up the slope it became quite impossible for us to draw 
the heavy load we had. We took three sacks from the sledge. 



IN AN UNKNOWN ARCHIPELAGO 


43i 


and leaving this behind us, we went on with them up the gentle 
incline. We glide side by side for a long tune towards the 
south-east, until we are close to the crown of the hill, where 
a daik cliff is seen sticking out of the ice. A few strokes 
more of the ski and we come to a standstill with a cry of 
dismay. The way is closed! is the first thought that 
flashes across our minds like lightning at the unexpected 
sight before us. Our questions come swiftly and eagerly. 
An arm of the sea lies before us Is it Admiralty Inlet ? 
Does the wintering-station he on the further shore ? Impos¬ 
sible ! Duse begins to recognise it as something he saw 
from the Antarctic the preceding summer. It is Sidney 
Herbert Bay! I recall Larsen’s description—a channel 
diminishing inwards to narrows, past which lies a large 
expanse of water. That agrees exactly with what we have 
here, and it seems as though we were on a large island. 
Sidney Herbert Bay would appear to be a channel com¬ 
municating on the other side of our island with the new 
fiord behind us. 

It is impossible for us to cross here. As far as the eye 
can reach across the sound, the ice has that blue-green colour 
the import of which we learned during our late, wet wan¬ 
dering upon the sea-ice. The way is closed ! 

To the east rose the extreme headland of our island, the 
Cape Gordon of Ross’ chart. We went there in order to 
obtain a view of the ice-conditions towards the Erebus Gulf. 
From here, we saw far northwards, in front of that part of 
the mainland lying south of our starting-point, a large ex¬ 
panse of blue, ice-free water, stretching as far as we could 
see through the misty air. South of this ice-free water, 
the smooth bay-ice was intersected by small leads right up 
to the cape where we stood. It was a joyful surprise to see 
so much open water in the Gulf, and we endeavoured to 
dimmish the depressing effects of our own non-success by 
the hope that the Antarctic would be able to make her way 
to the wintering station. 

While we followed our tracks back to the sledge, it began 



432 


ANTARCTICA. 


to snow, and when we were ready lor bed, the approaching 
snow-storm began to howl around the tent, and our sleep 
became an uneasy slumber, broken by reflections on our 
gloomy situation. 

During the course of the 7th the weather improved so much 
that at five p.m. wc could begin our return journey. Fortun¬ 
ately for us, the temperature soon fell to some degrees below 
freezing point, and this enabled us to make good use of the 
thick carpet of new-fallen snow. We took a more easterly 
route in order to come up on the mainland nearer the mouth 
of the great iiord, and Lhereby avoid the puzzling and trouble¬ 
some labyrinth of tlic thousand icebergs. After a forced 
march we reached the shorc-ice of the mainland at six a.m. 
on the 8th. We had crossed at the right moment, for a 
few hours later the snowstorm was once more shrieking around 
the tent. But wc submitted calmly to the delay thus forced 
upon us, secure in the knowledge, that we lay on the same 
land as the depot, near the Antarctic Sound. 

On the evening of the gth, we began to make preparations 
for starting, but the slope of the land-ice was so great that 
we could not get the sledge up with its full load. So we 
carried some things up and laid them down near a large 
block of stone, and then hurried back to bring up the sledge, 
but the snow-storm coming on again with redoubled violence, 
compelled us to a new period of inaction. We lay m our 
tent under a high moraine-wall, but the storm shook our 
shelter so, that we sometimes feared it would be torn to 
pieces. 

Our thoughts went out to the Antarctic Where was the 
good old boat, and bow did our comrades fare in this storm ? 
After the lapse of many, many days we learned, that early 
that morning, the morning of the nth of January, while we sat 
in the tent prophesying a fortunate fate for her, the Antarctic 
had received the blow, amidst violent pressure from the ice, 
that finally sent her to the bottom of the Gulf. 

The next afternoon, when we resumed our journey, we found 
that snow-drifts concealed the great block ol stone close to which 







434 


ANTARCTICA 


wc had deposiLed many of our things, and although we dug 
for a couple of hours with our skis we sought in vain. It 
was a severe loss for us—two small kodaks, with all tlie plates 
and films (except a dozen in Duse’s large apparatus), our 
supply of medicines, cartographical material, etc 

From the inland ice wc had a clear view over the Gulf right 
down to Cockburn and Seymour Islands and we once more saw 
leads amidst the drill-ice. But the clear weather was only of 
short duration, and hour alter hour we were forced to march 
at liap-hazard, guided only by the compass. 

We climb higher and higher up a long-sloping ascent. 
Suddenly we come to a downward slope which gi ows steeper 
and sLeepcr This ‘ gives us pause ’ and we pitch our tent 
on an incline so precipitous that we are Jiist obliged to dig 
out a level floor. A few minutes after we have encamped, 
the mist disappears and an unexpected sight is presented 
to our view. Deep below us at the foot of the slope, extends 
a level, sun-illumined held of mland-ice, and near us to the 
north we see the deep blue waters of the Antarctic Sound. 
We had stopped at the last moment, lor close to our camping 
ground, and in the line of our route, tire land-ice formed an 
immense precipice, broken by huge, yawning crevasses. 

But below us, the way lay open to the dcpdt-placc, and 
on the morning of the 13th we pitched our little tent there 
amid the screaming crowd ol penguins. 










Captoin S. A. Duse, 


CHAPTER IX. 

WAITING.—WE BUILD A WINTER HUT. 

Waiting—Geological discoveries—Om shoes—The Aniarrtu does not letiirn—We 
begin to build ourwinlei hut, and to repair it—Om hut—An lndoois tempera¬ 
ture under freezing point. 

Where was the Antarctic? 

Had Larsen found a way outside Joinville Island, or did 
the ice still form an impenetrable barrier there ? It was 
plain that no one had visited the depot while we had been 
absent on our sledge journey, but if the eastern way were 
closed by ice we could expect the Antarctic back every day. 

28* 




ANTARCTICA 


43C 

We elected the big lent and made everything as ~com- 
fortablc as possible, the little tent having to serve as a store¬ 
house lor all kinds ol things. 

We now u’tnrned to the plan ol sleeping at night and of 
spending the day in action and woik Down here amidst 
the dark snow-iree lulls we need not leai the sunlight, and 
at midnight the dusk now began to glow deeper every day 

The day alter our leturu hoin Lhe sledge expedition, when 
making my first geological excursion, 1 lound an indistinct 
impression ol a iossil loin m a block ol stone This clis- 
covoiy xuged me to eontimie mv seal eh and 1 soon had a 
whole luuvest ol stone slabs gatlieied in the little tent— 
rich in lennuns ol lei ns, eycads, and pines. It was evident 
that I had brought to light a Iossil lima born the Triassic 
or Jiuassie systems, quite a new find 111 South Polar regions, 
and one oi immense importance lm a determination ol the 
ioiinei climate ol the earth. 

But wandering ovei the sharp stones that were strc'wn 
about the lulls here, played havoc with our boots. Soles 
and heels disappeared iapidly, the binding soles became 
lull of holes and loosened hum lhe uppcis While we were 
building our winter dwelling we limped about with gaping 
holes in the bottom ol our bools, and the snow and the cold 
soon found their way through the torn, dirty stockings direct 
to the ieet. There was an amusing aspect ol the ease too, 
for we found that we could soon cut our toe-nails without 
taking off our boots. This is lather a coarse picture, maybe, 
but it shows the condition ra which we were. It was the 
first rough grasp oi the hand from harshly grinning Distress. 

The days came and the days went, and weeks became 
months, but no Antarctic arrived. The necessity of wintering 
in this place—a thing we had at first discussed as a distant 
possibility—grew gradually to a threatening certainty. We 
should soon stand face to face with the Polar Winter, provided 
only with two storm-torn tents and an insufficient supply 
of food ; we must in some way wrest from Nature the simplest 
means of preserving life—shelter, food and firing. 







ANTARCTICA 



43 « 

Wc soon came to a pci feet agi cement lespectmg the plan 
of wink foi the building ol a winter-hut Solid walls of 
blocks of stones should be built up to the full height of a man, 
the liame of the roof was to be made of the sledge and some 


Claduphlclub. 

I em flum llic Juunmc lloia al Hope Ba)'. Unu half the natuial hi/e 

poles and pieces of plank we had brought on shore with us, 
and over this we intended to spread the old tarpaulin, hitherto 
used to shelter the provision-depot. Then we meant to 
raise the big tent inside this hut, after flattening the top 
(of the tent) and lessening the size of the floor so that in 
shape the whole would be something like a cube. This 


WAITING.—WE BUILD A WINTER HUT. 439 

arrangement would give us a two-fold shelter against cold 
and storm. 

As the site of the stone-hut, we chose the level and 
comparatively dry piece of ground near the large tent, 
which was to remain standing to serve as a provisional 
dwelling until we could move into the hut. Fortun- 



Photo h\J] 


Camp Expectation 


[S X IX'SL 


ately there were plenty ol blocks of stone and large stone 
slabs very suitable lor our purpose, lying about the camping- 
ground, On the nth of February we began the work by 
bearing down several stones, and two days later, Grunden 
made a kind of hand-barrow of a couple of tent poles and 
some pieces of plank, and we took it in turns, by pairs, to 
carry on this the blocks of stone which the third man broke 
loose from the somewhat frozen earth. On the 17th, we 
laid all the foundations of the walls, which were considerably 
more than a yard thick near the ground, and which after¬ 
wards daily rose slowly in height; the holes and crannies 
being filled with masses of fine gravel from the shore. 



440 


ANTARCTICA. 


But still wc worked with comiortable slowness until at 
the beginning of March it became a matter of vital importance 
to have the house icady as soon as possible, our tent bearing 
evident signs of exposure to the storms 

Winter came upon us suddenly On flic 6 th of Mai eh, 
the house was filled with snow, which we cleared away while 
the storm was still blowing, and continued our work. On 
the 8th, the wind was still strong, but on the gth, wc worked 
away during an increasing snow-storm which was so violent 
the following day that we weic compelled to lemain inactive. 
The weather improved on the nth, when the sledge was 
built into its place, upside down, to serve as the rooi-troc, 
and we completed the walls. The 12th was a clay of hard 
work. Duse made a land of carpet ol penguin-skins which 
was to he laid under the floor-tarpaulin of the tent fo serve 
as an insulator against the cold earth. Gmndcn mended 
the old ship’s tarpaulin which was to form the roof, and I 
took the wing of a giant storm-petrel and swept the house 
clear of snow. When evciythmg was ready we moved the 
tent in, and put on tlic roo[-tarpaulin, which was held fast 
by huge blocks ol stone and by corner-stays attached to tire 
solid walls. 

It was evening ere wc had time to listen to the demands 
oi the stomach. We had an extiemely plain little banquet, 
and over a glass of hollands, congratulated each oilier on 
having come within walls over which the storm had no power. 
The first night in the but afforded us, too, a deep, quiet sleep 
—a wonderful refreshment alter the anxious, storm-disturbed 
slumbers of 1 lie foregoing nights 

It is true that we had moved into the hut, but the place 
was far lrorn being ready. Our first task now was to build 
an outer passage resembling those of the winter-huts of the 
Esquimaux. We made ours angular in shape, a plan which 
saved us building materials, which were difficult to get now 
that the ground was hard frozen, and it also prevented the 
wind from blowing direct into the tent when the enti ance was 
opened 




Winlei hut at Hope Bay while the outside passage was building. 


44 2 


ANTARCTICA. 


The passage was covered with the floor-tarpaulin of the 
little tent and the outer door was made m the following 
way • The threshold—a very lofty one in proportion to the 
whole—consisted of a box of petroleum, containing a still 
untouched cistern we were keeping for the journey we 
intended to make in the spring. The side pieces of the 
frame of the door consisted of two boxes, containing 
plant fossils, and standing on their ends Over these was 
placed a third box of fossils and the whole was built 
over with blocks of stone. The door opening thus ob¬ 
tained was about 2j feet square, and so, of course, 
there was no question of walking in : we had to 
creep very carefully, this taking the form, when entering, 
of putting the legs backwards over the threshold, falling on 
one’s knees, and then crawling m backwards. Duse made 
a door of the lids of two of the fossil-boxes, which fitted the 
door-opening exactly. It was pushed to its place from mside 
the passage, and when closed lay against narrow lists where 
it was held fast by a little wooden clamp, the whole being 
plainly, practically and ingeniously made. 

It was a matter of necessity that the door should open 
inwards, lor, later on m the winter when the hut was quite 
buried m snow, it would have been impossible to move the 
door had it opened outwards. When we were snowed in, we 
simply took the door into the passage and then found before 
us a wall of pure snow from which we took what we wanted 
for melting in the kitchen pot. If we happened to be snowed 
in for a number of days in succession, we * ate ’ ourselves out 
by degrees past the door-opening, and thus had the ad¬ 
vantage of being a good way onwards to the open air when 
we had to dig ourselves out at the close of the snow-storm. 

At the side of the door-opening, we left another large hole 
in the wall when we were building. It had at first been our 
intention to fill this opening with clean snow from which we 
could obtain our water supply on stormy days without being 
obliged to creep out into the midst of the storm This 
“ snow-cellar ” proved unnecessary, as we have just seen, 




Amucaria excelsa Norfolk Is , to the east of Australia. 
This still living form is nearly related to a species 
belonging to the Jurassic flora at Hot e Baj 





444 


ANTARCTICA. 


but it was oi great use as a store-house for meat and blubber, 
our first care after one snowstorm being to prepare for another 
by filling the cellar with provisions 

In the corner of the angular passage was made a recess, 
which was used as a w c , the low temperature prevailing 
in our hut allowing of its presence there without any serious 
inconvenience, while the arrangement became of absolute 
necessity during the winter, when we were sometimes snowed- 
in for a week at a time. 

The “ kitchen ” was situated m front of the entrance to the 
tent. Its roof consisted of a couple of immense fiat stones, 
undei which, on the one side, there rvas a little niche 
in the wall In the passage, in front of this fire-place, stood 
a large tin box containing dried vegetables and forming the 
cook’s somewhat chilly seat of office 

We have now come to the tent-opening and can there 
obtain a view of the mterioi arrangements There are several 
objects whose place is always the same—the low, open box 
for example, intended for culinary utensils, etc —a box with 
varied contents—a couple of small boxes—the petroleum 
carboy, and the tent-pole, on which was a round table that 
could either be hoisted close up to the tent-ceiling or let down 
to an horizontal position when we wished to work sitting 
around tlic table. (See illus., page 455). The position of the 
sleeping-bags when 111 use is seen by the illustration (p 463) 
When not wanted, they were rolled up and placed beside 
each other along the back wall of the tent The box ]ust 
mentioned was placed at night m front ol the tent- 
entrance When we were all up, it served as a seat for one 
of us ; but when, on stormy days, only the cook was about, 
it was placed where his sleepmg-bag usually lay, and was 
then used as a dining-table, or as a rough dumb waiter The 
upper part of the cooking-apparatus, which was not m 
use during the winter, was made to shelter pots containing 
warm meat which then cooled but slowly. The lower part 
was used as a seat during the day, and at night, as a fire¬ 
proof place for the burning lamp. There was scarcely anything 




^■y «■>'!< 








Vlcrophyllum. 

__ -r-) TTmir fifths of the naluTftl size. 

Kioiyi the Juiassic flow at Hope B») • Four-i.tUis, 



446 


ANTARCTICA 


oi all that we had biouglit on shore that was not now put to 
some use. Ends of rope, bits of wood, empty tins even, 
were pieserved and put by for iutme needs 

I have related how happy we felt when we moved out of 
the storm-torn tent into the solid hut But our satisfaction 
was not unalloyed We had, it is true, put much fine gravel 
and sand amongst the stones of the walls and had also tried 
to stop up the holes with sea-weed. But still there were 
innumerable small crannies and holes through which the 
wind and the snow found entrance 

We moved into the hut on the 12th March. Two days 
later we found considerable quantities of snow between the 
stone wall and the walls of the tent We put alg.ie into all 
the holes we could find and plastered the walls outside with 
snow. But on the 15U1, a violent snow-storm swept away 
all this " plaster ” and pressed masses of snow through the wall 
and against the tent, which actually bent beneath its weight 
On the 16th, we swept out all the snow with much difficulty, 
and the following day, the outside walls were once more 
plastered with a mixture of snow and sea-water which froze 
to solid ice Then came four days of storm (March 18th— 
March 21st.), after which we had to plaster the walls again. 
The illustration 011 page 441 shows the hut as it looked with 
snow-mantled walls, and with the passage under building. 

Fresh storms soon destroy the result of our toilsome labour. 
On the 27th, the walls require fresh plaster, and on the 30th, 
we find that they are once more full of holes. On the 1st of 
April we begin to cover the wall to windward with a thick, 
sloping wall of snow The work goes slowly and the wind 
wears the wall away almost as quickly as we can build it. 
But matters improve as the winter goes on, and natural 
snow-drifts, packed hard by the wind, arc formed by the 
side of our walls, and by “ midsummer ” the hut lies com¬ 
pletely hidden in the extensive, smooth hill of snow which 
has been gradually formed round it 

But before this improvement took place we had some severe 
combats with the cold On the 24th of April, it was my turn 




Olosscunites. 

From the Jurassic flora at Hope Bay. Natural sue 


44 « ANTARCTICA. 

to be cook, and when I lit the lamp m the morning, the tliei- 
mometei showed - i_|. J C (6 8° F ) near the roof of the tent, 
and -20° C ( - 4° F.), on the flom ; while outside m the 
kitchen it was still colder. Later on, with our snow-tight 
walls, the temperature kept pretty constant, remaining at a 
few degrees below freezing-point, a degree of comparative 
waimlh to which we soon grew quite accustomed, so that 
we could sit working or chatting in our jerseys, with naked 
hands and uncovciccl heads. And, however strange it may 
appear, we even wished with all our hearts that the indoor 
temperature would continue to icmam under freezing-point, 
for we knew from wretched expci lence, that every thaw 
produced violent showers ol melting nme-fiost from the 
tarpaulin ceiling, this downpour turning the hut into a peiiect 
Gehenna of sticky, semi-fluid dirt. 



449 


CHAPTER X. 

FOOD AND FIRING. 

Om Lueiitl supply -The weekly fare at Hope Bay—Killing penguins—Construction 
of tent-camp ami kitchen "blubber-stoves.” 

, IN the preceding chapter I 

have described our building- 
cares up to the time when the 
hut, buried in an immense 
mass of snow, offered us a 
shelter withm which we could 
calmly await the onslaught of 
future storms. We shall now 
return to the beginning of the 
winter in order to show the 
reader how we procured food 
and firing. 

Until the close of February, being in expectation of the 
speedy return of the Antarctic, we had lived chiefly on the 
provisions stored in the depdt on the occasion of our landing. 
But at the beginning of March we made a complete alteration 
in our manner of living, changing hastily from enjoying per¬ 
fectly civilized fare to supporting ourselves almost exclu¬ 
sively on the products of the land around us. 

As I have already mentioned, the quantity of bread sent 
ashore was considerably less than the intended supply—this, 
owing to a piece of negligence on my part. Of the original 
amount brought with, us (225 kilogrammes, circa 500 lbs.) 

29 





4-50 


ANTARCTICA. 


there remained at the beginning of the winter about 170 kg 
(375 lbs ), and this scanty supply we husbanded in the follow¬ 
ing manner -.—Every three weeks a sack containing about 12 kg 
(26J lbs.) was tilled from the original bread barrel, and this 
quantity of bread was then divided into three equal parts, 
for which we drew lots. During the three weeks that ensued 
before the next distribution, each one could do as he pleased 
with his 4 kg. of bread (not quite half a pound of bread daily). 

Of the tinned meat, bread, butter, cocoa, coffee, sugar, and 
petroleum, we reserved at the beginning of the winter as much 
as we thought would be needed dui mg oui intended sledge- 
journey to Snow Hill in the spring. The remainder of the 
depot provisions was not more, when portioned out for the 
whole of the winter, than was just sufficient to form a little 
change in the dismal monotony of the food supplied us by 
Nature. 

Our Winter Fare at Hope Bay. 

Monday.— Breakfast : Fried pengum or seal-meat, coffee , 
dinner, soup made of penguin or seal-meat and dried vege¬ 
tables, 'fried meat; supper, fried meat, tea. 

Tuesday.— Breakfast , as on Monday; dinner, canned 
herrings, soup (see Monday), fried meat; supper, as on 
Monday. 

Wednesday— Breakfast, dinner and tea, as on Monday, 

Thursday. — Breakfast and dinner, as on Monday; supper, 
porridge, fried meat, tea. 

Friday.— Breakfast, dinner and tea, as on Tuesday. 

Saturday.— Breakfast , dinner and tea, as on Monday. 

Sunday.— Breakfast : Fried meat, coffee with condensed milk 
{during the first part of the winter we had cocoa, with sugar and 
condensed milk) ; dinner, canned herrings, tinned meat and 
tinned soup, fried meat, “ extra coffee ” ; supper, fried 
meat, tea. 

The. above list shows the weekly fare during the winter until 
the 1st of June, when, as the fuel began to run short, we 
determined to prepare only two meals daily. From that day 



FOOD AND FIRING. 


451 

we arranged matters so tliat dinner and supper were made 
into one meal, consisting, on Mondays, for example, of pen¬ 
guin-soup, seal-meat and tea, and, on Thursdays, of poriidge, 
fried meat and tea. It may be also noted that every fortnight 



Drawing by] 


i 4 * 

The Antarctic penguins 
i The emperor penguin (Ji ptonodytes Forgteri). 

2. Pygoacslis Adel to, 

3. ,, antarcbioa. 

4. „ papim. 

All the flguieg are about £ the natural size, 

[E LAKGE. 


we had canned herrings three tunes during the week, and 
four times during the other week. 

The coffee we took during the winter was very innocent in 
nature, the daily ration being one tablespoonful of ground 
coffee to i| litres (2-J- pints) of water, The “ extra coffee ” 

29* 


452 


ANTARCTICA 


we had on Sundays and on one or two other festive occasions 
was made of the coffee-grounds saved during the week. The 
evening tea was, in its way, as weak as the morning coffee, 
but we made it taste a little better by adding a crystal or two 
of citric acid. 

The porridge we had twice a week was a great luxury in 
the midst of our chronic hunger for carbohydrates. The 
barley, which mould had partly converted into a soft, lumpy 
mass, was boiled m a mixture of melted snow and sea-water,* 
but no milk porridge with the lump of butter sweetly dissolving 
m its centre has ever tasted so well at home in Sweden as did 
this wretched dish in our stone hut. To spare ourselves the 
trouble of boiling it twice weekly, we used to boil the week’s 
supply at once, keeping half of it for the next porridge-day, 
when it was served fried in seal-oil, and often interlarded 
with browned squares of seal-fat. Prepared in the manner 
just mentioned, it became a much longed-for luxury 

Several times during the course of the winter we gladdened 
our hearts with a peculiar kind of pastry Grunden had learned 
to prepare, while he was on whaling and sealing expeditions 
in the Arctic Ocean, and which was called “ danga ” This 
remarkable dish consisted of bread-crumbs, softened in a 
mixture of salt-water and fresh-water, and then fried in seal- 
oil. It is very difficult to make a danga well, so that it shall 
be of a proper saltness and be thoroughly done without being 
burned. Browned squares of seal-fat added to the taste of 
this dish, too 

Sundays were our great festivals; all three meals—dinner 
especially—offering a much longed-for change from the scanty 
monotony of the week’s fare. But glorious beyond all descrip¬ 
tion were the first Sundays m every month, when we got a 
glass of hollands at dinner. Duse had a little pocket-flask, 
with a metal cup, which went round the circle on these solemn 
occasions. When the “ monthly-dram ” was drunk, we con- 

* At the beginning oE March we had prepared our penguin soup with the addition 
of a little sea-water, in ordet to save the salt. The magnesium in this water occa¬ 
sioned us a seveie and long attack of)diarrhoea. 




A giant petrel killing a j-oung Adelire penguin. 










454 


ANTARCTICA 


gratulated each other on having struggled through another 
month towards the goal so eagerly wished for—the spring. 
It once happened that one of us by mistake drank his dram too 
quickly. He fretted about it a whole month, and when the 
next drink at last came, he took it with deep gravity and let 
it slowly. Very slowly, run down his throat. 

Oil one or two occasions there were extra “ dram days.” 
First amongst these occasions should be named our three 
birthdays, which all fell during the period we resided in the 
stone hut And on the 17th of May—the Norwegians’ national 
day—Duse and I prepared a little surprise for Grunden. I 
was cook for the day, and when my companions returned 
from work, our little flag waved from a sla-staff, and I gave them 
for dinner a well-burned bread-crumb cake, made of some 
fragments of dried fruits, a few bits of sugar, and a couple of 
spoonfuls of condensed milk 

Midsummer Day is, m a certain sense, the Christmas Day 
of southern winters. By some peculiar chance we had 
brought on shore with us the remains of the three-branched 
Yule-candle we had had on board the Antarctic. Grunden 
bound three sticks fast to the tent-pole, and at the outer end 
of each of these pieces of wood was fastened a candle. When 
the banquet of fried meat and fruit soup was ready, the train- 
oil lamp was put out and the three Christmas lights were lit, 
their clear rays illumining every corner of the sooty tent. 
Duse made a short speech, concluding m a wish that the latter 
end of the winter would find us as untouched by the diffi¬ 
culties of existence as we were now, that we should continue 
to live as good comrades, and that the spring would bring a 
favourable solution of all the serious questions which con¬ 
tinually occupied our thoughts. 

I have now described our few and poor festivals, and have 
shown that while our supply of “ cultured ” provisions was 
certainly small, it was still sufficient to form a welcome variety 
in the indescribable monotony of an existence which had been 
rendered possible only by the fact, that at the beginning of the 




Midwinter feast at Hope Bay, June 24th, 1903 




45<5 


ANTARCTICA. 


winter we had had an opportunity of laying the animal world 
aiound us under tribute—a tribute which gave us both firing 
and food. 

On the 19th of February we made our great slaughter of 
the penguins. The Adeliae young ones were now almost ready 
to go out into the sea, and it was amongst them we chose our 
first victims It was raw and bloody work, but “ necessity has 
no law.” We killed that day no less than 150 penguins. 



Photo hy\ [E Ekelof. 

Weddell seal. 

But the great mass of the penguins had already gone" out 
to sea, and those who remained grew shyer after every hunt. 
After the 7th of April there were only a few hundreds of birds 
left on shore, all of them' very shy, and we needed quite a 
hundred of them ere we could feel sure that we had a sufficient 
supply for the winter. An idea came to my head that we could 
possibly use the loose snow, which hindeied our progress so 
much and facilitated that of the penguins in an equal degree, 





ANTARCTICA. 


458 

to make a tiap for the birds. The plan succeeded beyond all 
expectation, and on the 8th of April we obtained no less than 
10 x penguins m this way. Including those killed now and 
then by the cook for the day (“ I’m going out to kill the dinner,” 
he used to say sometimes), no less than 700 penguins were dis¬ 
patched by us at Hope Bay. It was faithless and ungrateful 
of us to thus dcstrojr the peace of an hitherto untroubled 
world of birds, but no one can rightly blame us for killing the 
number of animals we considered absolutely necessary to 
supply our wants—a number which would, m reality, not 
have saved us from the touch of famine had we not later on 
increased our food supplies with a number of well-needed 
winter-seals. 

As the winter came on we began to think of new ways of 
preparing our ( pengum-meat. Pengum-beef fried in the fat 
found beneath the skin and in the entrails of the birds, proved 
an excellent dish, and Duse made an admirable discoveiy— 
grilled penguin—the meat being rolled m the fine crumbs 
obtained from ship’s-biscuits And one day, shortly after 
we had moved into the stone-hut, Grunden gave us some seal- 
meat of an extremely clean and agreeable taste. It had been 
fried in seal-oil.* 

Even while we were in the tent we began the experiment 
of trying to make fires with blubber, but it was first after 
several weeks’ residence m the hut that we succeeded in 
overcoming all difficulties in the arrangement and care of the 
train-oil lamps, of which we needed two kinds, a small one for 
the purposes of illumination, and a larger one for the kitchen. 
For the tent-lamp we had a flat herring-tm, which was filled 
with small squares of blubber in the midst of which was put a 
wick made of tent-rope. The two big perserve-tin “ smoker- 
stoves ” we had in the kitchen required such long and thick 
ropes, however, that it soon seemed as though we should soon 
have no wick-material left, but we at last made the fortunate 
discovery that they could burn without any wick at all 

* It should be mentioned that our frying-pan consisted of a flat preserve tin, with 
a nail and a bit of wood for a handle. 



FOOD AND FIRING. 


459 


At first we had much trouble m getting the lamps to burn, 
so that it sometimes took five or six hours to boil the penguin- 
soup, but by the end of the winter we had become real vir¬ 
tuosos in the art ot turning the blubber into a burning mass 
of flames, smoke and soot, and all within the space of a minute 
or two. 

We called our lamps by the abusive name of “ smokers,' 1 ' 
and not without good reason, for sometimes when the snow¬ 
storms stopped up a chimney we had made of old tins, and 
which led into the open air, the smoke became so dense that 
we could scarcely distinguish each other’s faces. The tent- 
lamp, which burned all night m order to warm the air a little, 
was placed on a fireproof place m the bottom of a large unused, 
cooking apparatus. Sometimes it burned calmly the whole 
night through, but as a rule it went out towards the 
morning. Once it went wrong altogether • the whole mass of 
partly-burned blubber suddenly taking fire and developing a 
heavy smoke, which might have suffocated the whole party 
had not one of us awakened and put the thing out. 

From the day we moved into the hut it was agreed that we 
should share the work equally. Every third day came each 
one’s turn to sit on the vegetable-box and prepare the plain 
food. When the toilsome time in the kitchen was ended, the 
cook crept into his sack with a pleasant, lazy thought of the 
two free days to come But inactivity was no lasting joy. 
On the second day one lay wishing to be at work again out in 
the kitchen, so our plan evidently provided us with a most 
necessary change amidst the monotony of winter life. 



CHAPTER XI. 


MIDWINTER. 

Gilinden sings—and lays the table—Our evenings—Shoe-malang—The raiseiy of 
thaw s—Good fellowship 

“ A sailoi am I, I’ll always be a sailoi , 

Pool am I too, rich I’ll nevei be , 

But I have a sailoi’s heart so honest, 

And I love a gul who is tine to me ” 

It is Grunden who is singing. 

He is cook for the day, and while the thin ice in the coffee 
pot is thawing, and the seal-blubber crackles in the pan, he 
sits and hums an air, or sings. But now he grows silent. 
It is evident that some important work is occupying the 
whole of his attention. 

Grunden sings merrily once more while he sits turning 
the pengum-steaks m the pan. He has a varied collection 
of songs, has Grunden. Sometimes it is a music-hall ditty, 
often an American negro-song learned while he was on 
the Florida coasts, or, again, some amusing Norwegian verses 
about a girl who went to a ball in borrowed shoes and put 
hay in the toes because they were too large. But he always 
comes back to his songs of the sea and a sailor’s life; not 
a few of them epics of salt-sea life, and with their heavy 
stanzas interlarded with seamen’s terms. 



MIDWINTER. 


461 

Our good Grunden is a sailor, heart and soul. One can hear 
that, for the moment, he is far away from us, his companions 
in misfortune ; far away from this life amidst dirt and darkness, 
this life m a dead, white land—he lies m a reeking storm oh 
the Norwegian coast and is hauling off the land for dear life, 
while he sings :— 

'* Oh, toi I was bom on the old Norwegian coast, 

Wheie the vessels piond do sail; 

And a seaman’s life, it took my fancy most, 

Since I tinned o' fifteen year.” 

His songs arc as changeful as his own life has been. He 
can sing of hard days, when life depended on the capability 
of the pumps keeping some wretched tub afloat, or of jolly 
days ashore when money went to the last farthing, and, the 
drunken bout over, he found himself shanghaid on a strange 
vessel. He can sing of white sweethearts, and yellow and 
black ; lie has learned songs of English, German and Ameri¬ 
can chums, and has sung in Australian streets to earn a penny. 
But he is a Norwegian, and in spite of his roving nature he loves 
most to smg of the old country:— 

"Fiom the Western Sea to Koien’s rand, 

Fiom Arclic Ocean to Kristiansand, 

Oh I there my home is ; 

There can I join in 
My country’s song ” 

But breakfast is ready Grunden comes m and drys his 
black, oily hands upon the tent-cloth, and begins to lay the 
table—(wooden box.) The white enamel of the soup plates 
(coffee cups) can be seen here and there under the sticky, dirty 
layer of soot and fat. When we drink the warm coffee, a clean, 
white mark is left at the edge of the plate, where the under 
hp has been. But this is merely the week-day state of 
things, for the “ china ” is always scoured clean with snow, 
ready for Sunday’s dinner. The plates for the meat consist 
of empty preserve-tins, whose low form and strong, tinned 
ironTmake them very suitable for the purpose. 



ANTARCTICA 


462 

When we have finished breakfast, Duse and I express our 
acknowledgments by saying “ Thank you ' ” Grunden 
answers “ Don’t mention it! ” * These civihties are always 
exchanged after each meal between the cook for the day and 
the two c gentlemen at ease and it was really a relief, m this 
wild-man's life of ours, to hear in this little interchange of 
courtesies, a distant echo of the language of polite inter¬ 
course amid more civilized surroundings 

When the last meal for the day was ended, the cook had 
much hard work still left. He had to melt the snow for the 
morrow’s coffee, mince the meat and cut the blubber—m a 
word, put everything in order for the next day’s breakfast, 
so that his successor should not have to sit too long 111 the 
early chill ere the meal was ready. The cook’s last piece of 
work before resigning his important office was to cut and plait 
together a couple of wicks for the tent lamps, and give them 
and the box of matches in use at the time, to the man who 
was to have the same labour the next day 

The evening is the pleasantest part of the whole day 
Before Grunden creeps into his bag he puts the lamp into its 
place for the night. The tent is now quite dark except for 
a large, round spot on the ceiling where the night-lamp casts 
a flickering gleam, There is something of the cosy feeling 
of the Swedish evening fire m this rough interior of ours ; 
memory brings back the childhood’s hour for stories told m 
the half shadow of the glowing embers, while the snow whirled 
around the house, and the winter darkness lay heavy o’er 
the land. 

Now our best time for chatting has come. We take it in 
turns to entertain the company. One evening Duse makes 
some military question clear for us—the mechanism of a 
modern cannon, for example, or the construction of the Swedish 
automatic rifle and its superiority over other types, Grunden 
and I adding our modest experiences from our conscript 

* In Sweden it is the custom that after each meal, the husband, children, or 
guests return thanlrs to the wife, mother or hostess, who replies in some such way as 
Grunden did.— Tmns. 




Meal-time m the s»tane hut at Hope Baj 


ANTARCTICA 


464 

days Warlike subjects interest us greatly ; sometimes we 
are at Colenso, sometimes at Sedan/ Grunden’s ideal sailor 
is Tordenskjold,* and we recount lor him the glorious 
story of Psilander f Anon, our hereditary enemy is upon 
us ; Norwegians and Swedes stand shoulder to shoulder m 
northern Sweden, and the naval flags of the sister nations 
wave side by side amidst the Swedish archipelago. Thoughts 
fly fast and free m the wilderness 1 

We have no books. When we wish to delight the eye 
with a few printed words, we take out our tins of 
“ Le lait condense, prepare par Henri Nestle,” or of 
“ Boiled Beef,” and read the labels. We endeavour to 
make up for this want of light reading, by recalling what 
we have learned under happier circumstances and relating 
stones—Duse and I, for example, recounting for Grunden 
all that we remember of “Monte Cristo” and the “Three 
Musketeers ” 

Very often we lay of an evening and made glorious plans 
of existence for the time when we should be at length released 
from this banishment. Once Grunden and I, in jest, made 
Duse promise that he would marry an heiress as soon as 
possible after his arrival home; after which—and this was 
the important part—he was to purchase a pleasure yacht 
of which Grunden was to be the captain, my share m the 
plan being, that I was to accompany the party on a trip to 
the Mediterranean 

Pei haps this account of our intellectual amusements has 
given the reader the impression that, m this respect, at least, 
our existence was pretty tolerable. But, unfortunately, 
such was not the case. Chat, jokes, and tales were rare 
oases in a deseft of intellectual nothingness, and we ourselves 
marked with astonishment how our thoughts produced 

* A Norwegian naval heio of the first decade of the 18th century. 

t Gustaf von Psilander 1669—1738 This Swedish officer, when in command of- 
the Oland, of 30 guns, sustained a hours' attack from eight English ships of the 
line and one frigate, under the command of W. Whetstone, off Orfordness, on the 
28th July, 1704 —Tram 



Drawing by] 


The cook comes out of the hut after a snowstorm 


[J. Baubb. 


30 



ANTARCTICA 


4 66 

nothing but a strange and wretched assortment of the most 
common-place reminiscences. 

Strangely enough, it was but seldom we experienced 
any oppressive feeling that time passed at a snail’s pace. On 
the contrary, we often wondered that the days slipped by while 
we were busy with one thing or another—work forced upon us 
by this hard struggle for existence. Thus, for example, we had 
unending labour endeavouring to get our winter-boots into 



Photo by] _ [S. A, DUBE 

Inner part of Hope Bay 

Showing the valley glacier, with perpendicular termination, and lateral 
mcnaine, and, to the left, the rounded hill formerly coveied by the 
valley glacier. 


proper condition. We had only one sail-needle, and it was 
a great piece of good fortune that it never broke as we tugged 
with might and mam to draw it, and the thick thongs, through 
the seal-skm we used. Grunden and I made shoes after the 
same simple plan. Our now bottomless Lapp-shoes were 
provided with inner and outer soles of the skin of the full- 
grown penguin, and outside the whole we sewed an outer- 
shoe of seal-skin with a seal-skm sole. It is easy to describe, 
the making of such a shoe, but it took weeks to get one ready. 




30* 


From the Jurassic flora at Hope Bay Natural size 


468 


ANTARCTICA. 


Twenty or thirty stitches per day, with the tools we had, was 
a very good day’s work 

Duse made himself a pair of artistic outer shoes with wooden 
soles, the material for which he obtained from the bottom 
of one of our bread-barrels. In order to fasten the seal¬ 
skin shoe to this sole, he had to carve a deep groove with a 
very blunt knife, round the edge of the hard bit of oak. The 
seal-skin was stuffed into the groove and held fast there with 
oak-pegs driven m vertically. If one considers the circum¬ 
stances under which these shoes were made, they were a 
most remarkable piece of work. They had one great ad¬ 
vantage over ours, that they did not become so wet during the 
thaws, Duse being able to go about dry-footed on his wooden 
soles, whilst our seal-skm soles flapped like wringing-wet 
rags about our feet. 

When the cold storms raged, our hut was a secure home 
which we praised in grateful words. But when milder 
weather set in, we cursed it as a most unendurable hole, for 
we had concealed not only the walls, but also the roof, 
beneath a heap of snow, and ere many days passed, the thaw 
outside and the warmth inside caused the "roof-snow” to 
melt, and we had quite a shower of ram inside the hut. 

North winds, with a temperature near, or just over, the 
freezing-point, and bitingly cold south-west storms, now 
succeeded each other in rapid succession. Later on in the 
winter, thaws became rarer, but my diary mentions rain in 
the month of August. One night we were all drenched to 
the skm by the water that flooded the floor. Several nights 
passed ere the warmth of our bodies could at all dry the 
sleepmg-bags, and just about that time it required no little 
courage to creep into the sodden, cold sacks at night. Duse, 
who had the worst bed-place, suffered exceedingly from the 
wet, till at last he thought of putting a couple of barrel- 
bottoms under his sleeping-hag, after which he could lie 
pretty dry, and he unhesitatingly preferred the “woody 
taste” the bed now had, to running the risk of a new 
drenching. 



MIDWINTER. 


469 

Wlien mild weather came occasionally, with the dripping 
from the tent ceiling, and with pools of dirty water, life in 
the hut grew unendurable. The two who were free ior the 
day used to leave the unhappy cook to his fate and walk abroad 
in the open air. In these moments of lonely wanderings, the 
pressure of adverse foitune disappeared and, forgetful of the 
bitter harshness of the present, our thoughts flew unfettered 
far, far away, to happier days and milder climes. 

There never existed amongst us any ol that unforgiving, 
ever increasing tllwill of which so much is related in accounts 
of other winterings under far more fortunate conditions 
On the contrary; as time passed on and we learned to know 
every wrinkle of each other’s humours and turns of mind, 
we learned to hold still faster together in this brotherhood 
of hardships and evil days, a brotherhood which will certainly 
be remembered by us all in the coming yeais with unfeigned 
joy. I, for my pait, have cause to feel the greatest thank¬ 
fulness towards my companions m misery, who ever met 
me with unfailing good-will, although they had reason to blame 
one who had led them, so poorly equipped, into undertaking 
an enterprise which had resulted in this wintering. 

It is true that we quarrelled on a few occasions during the 
course of the winter, sometimes about an unimportant detail 
of our daily lile, sometimes about things a thousand miles 
away, and then unpremeditated, harsh words were heard 
from both parties. But these “ shines,” were merely short, 
refreshing thunderstorms, breaking suddenly amidst the sultry 
calm of our life. 

The following day brought reconciliation, when the hands 
of the wranglers met, and eyes grew moist and our voices 
warm, while we all agreed that it was necessary to work 
together harmoniously m order that our wretched existence 
might be as endurable as possible. 

And from these days of gloomy gravity we have won, too, a 
life’s treasure—the knowledge of the strong power that warm 
and honest friendship has, to proudly subdue the dark might 
of isolation and of extreme distress, 



4/0 


CHAPTER XII 

WINTER SEALS AND SIGNS OF SPRING. 

We catch a few seals—A fishing stmy—Thoughts of departme—Oiu prepaiations— 
State of oiu clothes—Ready to stall. 

THERE came a day at 
the close of May when 
we found that we stood 
face to face with a 
threatening scarcity of 
fuel. Hitherto, our 
three “ kitchen - smo¬ 
kers ” had flamed the 
whole day long, and 
we had had our three 
full meals daily. But 
we were now obliged to limit the number of our chief 
meals to two, and to content ourselves with a mid-day repast 
of warmed-up meat which had been fried at breakfast 
time 

We lived m this way until far into the month of June, 
when we found that even the little collation had become a 
dangerous luxury which must be abolished. We took it 
for the last time on the 23rd June, but on the very same 
day there occurred an incident of a very pleasant description, 
viz., that Duse and Grunden shot a seal out on the point. 
We afterwards shot a few seals on the ice m the bay, and 
killed m all 21 of them during our residence at Hope Bay. 

On the 6th July, Grunden and I shot a seal whose stomach 





472 


ANTARCTICA. 


was quite full of fish This discovery gave fresh impetus 
to certain vague plans we had had of trying to catch a few 
fish, and as soon as we came back from the seal-hunt, 
I asked Duse to try his hand at making some suitable fishing 
gear 

A hook was the first thing we wanted Alter a little 
meditation on the advisability of using nails, fragments of 
seal-skulls, etc., as lus raw material, Duse made his choice, 
and began the manufacture of the hook out of the bone- 
handle of his knife, and he soon had one ready with a sharp 
point, a barb, and at the top, a knob where the line was 
to be fastened. The gut-line was made of the remains of a 
fishing-line, the greater part of which had been turned into 
thread. The line itself was cut by Duse out of a seal-skm, 
it was from to £ of an inch wide and had a small coating 
of fat on the one side and of hair on the other. It was an 
uncouth contiivance when ready ; 38 yards of it rolled up 
forming a ball as big as a man’s head, and both hook and 
line were worthy of a savage from the stone age. A piece of 
broken tent- peg of iron was used as a sinker, and we had 
seal blubber for bait 

We made our first attempt at fishing on the 25th July. 
It was far from agreeable pulling 111 the line with our naked 
hands, but doing so with mittens on was still worse, for they 
were at once filled with sea-water. We took turns with the 
line. Grunden, who had had the most experience in such 
matters, thought several tunes that he had a bite, but the 
hook always came up innocent of fish As Duse and 
I were walking about on the ice to keep ourselves warm, 
however, Grunden suddenly began to haul m the line 
at a more rapid rate than before, and this time there 
really was a fish struggling at the end of the seal-skm 
rope. Off came our caps and we cheered the floundering 
rogue heartily. 

On this occasion, we caught, in all, two fish. They were 
nearly one foot long ( Notothenid.es ), with big, broad heads 
and tremendous mouths Fried in seal-oil, with the addition 



WINTER SEALS AND SIGNS OF SPRING 473 

of a little sea-water, they formed indescribable dainties amidst 
the sameness of a perpetual meat-diet. 

We lost our bone book one day after a tremendous bite, 
the fish going off with both hook and sinker. Duse made 
a new hook out of a brass shoe-buclde and we caught a few 
fish with the new gear, but, towards the latter part of August, 
we fished several times without getting a single bite. Twenty 
fish was the sum-total of all our takes, so that our fishing 
had given us more employment and recreation than food. 

H* :}< H* H* 

Early in the latter part of the winter 
we began to have notice of the approach 
of spring, no unmixed pleasuie under the 
circumstances Our position, too, was 
most peculiar. 

Relief was to come from the north, but 
in order that this help should avail us it 
was necessary for us to go south to the 
wintering station, as in the event of the 
Antarctic having been lost with all her crew 
—an eventuality which, 111 spite of all our 
hopes, we could not put out of consideration 
—there would be none who were aware 
that we were living at Hope Bay, and did 
we not leave this place, we might see the 
relief-vessel passing through the sound 
without our being able to attract its attention by means 
of signal fires or other means. Our lives seemed to depend 
upon our reaching Snow Hill, and, m order to arrive at that 
station, we needed ice to march on. The sea-ice, which had 
been our inexorable foe the preceding summer, ruining all 
our plans and imprisoning us here, had now become an 
eagerly longed-for friend. But it appeared to have dis¬ 
appeared entirely; the bay, after south-west stoims, some¬ 
times lying calm, blue and ice-free right up to the shore, and 
we were seized by woeful apprehensions that possibly there 
was not a bit of ice between us-and inhabited tracts. We 



Fisliing-hook made 
out of a shoe- 
buckle. 
Natural size 



474 


ANTARCTICA. 


made up the wildest plans. We spoke of travelling across 
the inland- and the sea-ice as far as we could, and then, 
with the sledge for boat-ribs and the tarpaulin as a covering, 
we should make a flat-bottomed craft m which one of us 
was to attempt to reach Snow Hill. 

But on the 7th August, Grunden and I took a walk up on 
to the land-ice in order to obtain a glimpse of the ice-conditions 
towards the Erebus and Terror Gulf. What we saw was highly 
encouraging. Past Rosamel Island and the group now called 
the Argentine Islands, we could perceive nothing but a white 
field of pack-ice, amidst which we thought we saw the same 
icebergs which had lain there m February. 

Our next reconnoitring trip was for the purpose of examining 
the ice-conditions m the nearest part of the Crown Prince 
Gustaf Channel (as it is now called), which we should have to 
pass on the way to Vega Island. As my boots held together 
best, it fell to my lot to be the bearer of good tidings to my 
companions from that quarter. 

I started on skis at 9 am, on the 2nd of September. It 
felt pleasant to be away for a day from the darkness and 
dirt of the stone-liut, and it seemed to me as if the gloomy 
loneliness of the winter were dispelled by this first long journey 
over the land-ice. 

My expectations were excited to the highest pitch as I 
climbed the ice-ridge from whence we had for the first time 
seen the Bay of the Thousand Icebergs on the occasion of 
our sledge-journey. Fortune smiled upon us, for the ice lay 
unbroken over all the visible part of the channel right up 
to Vega Island, the last land we had reached when on that 
expedition. 

I was home again by 4 m the afternoon with the joyous news 
that the ice was safe—to Vega Island at least. The unusual 
bodily exercise brought on a slight indisposition, but my 
companions, with the*same helpfulness which had allowed of 
my making the morning’s trip, undertook my kitchen work 
until I was well again 

To add to our small supply of sledge-journey provisions we 





ANTARCTICA. 


476 

at once began the manufacture of what we called “ Antarctic 
preserved food ” For quite a number of days in succession 
the cook was busily engaged; between the preparation of the 
meals, in frying meat over both the “ food-smokers ” In this 
way we obtained a supply of about 300 small penguin- and 
seal-steaks, or enough for 20 meals for the three of us, 
and these we packed m three large tin boxes. We also counted 
upon finding a little depot we had left at Vega Island. 

Thanks to our economy during the winter we had a pretty 
large supply of two articles of piovisions—coffee and sugar 
The bits of sugar, 554 m number, were carefully packed 111 a 
suitable tin. We calculated that we should be able to have 
coffee twice or three times daily, using three good table- 
spoonsful on each occasion; that is, we should have then 
more coffee per day than we had now during a whole week. 
I may add here that, during the sledge-journey, we never ex¬ 
perienced the slightest injurious effects from this sudden 
increase m the use of the stimulus in question, but that the 
good, warm coffee contributed greatly to our comfort, and 
to the pleasantness of our meal-tunes—a psychical effect ol 
no slight importance in the wretched condition we were m 
The same thing can be said of the glass of spirits which we 
took now and then to the last meal when the day’s toil was 
done. 

Duse’s constructive abilities were again called into requisi¬ 
tion 111 order to make a wooden candlestick, which could be 
hung by a string, and was intended for a little packet of 
candles we had saved for the purpose of lighting up the tent 
during the evenings on the coming sledge-journey. Another 
piece of carpentry which took much time was the carving out 
of wooden “ barnacles ” to replace the snow-spectacles of 
glass which Duse and I had lost. Duse made a very nice, 
loosely-sitting pair out of a stave of an oaken barrel, the 
parts being joined by a string, but I made mine m one piece 
and the strangeness of their appearance was further increased 
by the bits of cloth which had to be fastened to the sides, as 
the wooden part did not fully exclude the light (see the illus- 



WINTER SEALS AND SIGNS OF SPRING. 477 

Rations on pages 309 and 487). Both types served their 
purpose, and were used during the whole of the journey to 
Snow Hill. The slit foi looking through was, in both cases, 
a horizontal one, with a perpendicular cut downwards to widen 
the range ol vision m that dnection. 

As I have mentioned m a preceding chapter, we owned but 
one sail needle between us, and now during the spring it was 
m constant use the whole of the day, passing from one man 
to the other in due order, for the purpose of mending shoes, 
or of making a pair of mittens out of an old hat. Now and 
then during the winter we had been obliged to darn the ever- 
enlarging holes m our dirty stockings. The yam we obtained 
from the brown tent stay-line, but for the sledge-journey we 
thought that we ought to mend the holes with some softer 
and better material, so we cut off the legs ol a couple of 
stockings and unravelled them in order to procure darning 
worsted. 

Speaking ol foot-attire makes me think of the question of 
cleanliness. I once tried to wash a pair ol stockings m the 
Esquimaux way—by using urine as a means of dissolving the 
fat—and succeeded to my full satisfaction. 

At the very beginning of our stay here we at once gave 
up all thoughts of washing either hands or face, but once or 
twice during the wmter we washed our feet in warm water 
m the only basins we had—our soup plates. 

All our woollen under-hnen had naturally become very 
dirty and ragged. I shall relate my own experiences. I had 
taken two shirts on shore with me from the Antarctic. When 
the month of January was ended I imagined that it would he 
a month at the most ere the vessel returned, and so—I changed 
my shirt. I wore the new shirt for y\ months, until just before 
our departure from Hope Bay, when I put on the January 
shirt once more, for now that was the clean one. 

When we had arranged our pnvate outfits to our satisfac¬ 
tion, there still remained much to do ere we had the general 
equipment ready. The large tent tarpafilm was loosened 
and the sledge taken down, and on examining the latter we 



47 » ANTARCTICA 

made a welcome discovery. On board the ship it had been 
bound about with a good strong string, winch we now replaced 
by a simpler binding, the string being unravelled and used as 
thread to mend our small sledge-]ourney tent, which had been 
sadly damaged by the autumn storms, and now was repaired 
a little by Grunden by means ot pieces taken from the large 
tent. 

Theie was also some scientific work to be done ere we took 
our departure. Duse completed his sketch-map of Hope Bay, 
and I made some supplementary investigations concerning the 
former and more extensive ice-covering here. 

But even when wc had completed our preparations by 
about the 20th of September, we did not commence our 
journey, for a snowstorm kept us imprisoned day after day. 
It was a gloomy time, the excitement and pleasure of pre¬ 
paration being over. Our supply of food began to run short, 
since we had packed up nearly all our food for the purposes of 
the journey, and the rude stone walls scowled at us through the 
holes xn the big tent. We were now determined to start on 
the first day that the weather was at all favourable, lor we 
longed, with heart and soul, to leave this house of darkness, 
which Grunden, with grim pleasantry, had once called “ the 
Crystal Palace,” 






CHAPTER XIII. 

“CAPE WELL MET ! ” 


Final piepuraLioivt foi leaving Hope Bay—Caught in a bnow storm—Favourable 
ice-cnndiLions. m the Eielius and Tenoi Gulf—Fio^t-bite '—We reach Vega 
Island—Discuvciy of the depot—Cape Well Met 

On the 29th of September, 1903, dawned the day of departure 
from Hope Bay. 

The door opening was snowed tip as usual after a storm; 
but on this occasion the cook did not take the trouble to dig 
himself out in the ordinary manner. As soon as he found that 
the weather was calm and “ reasonable,” he threw off the tem¬ 
porary roof of the passage and climbed out that way. The 
sky was overclouded and the air misty, hut there was no 
reason for hesitating longer. It was not half-past five when 
he awakened his companions. 

There still remained a little miscellaneous work to do, ere we 
could leave the place. We broke away the three heavy boxes 
of fossils from their places in the door, and placed them in a 
little depbt, covered by the roof tarpaulin, which we made 
on the slope of the little hill north of the hut. 

During the last days of storm Duse had cut the following 
inscription on a piece of wood :— 

J. G. Andersson, S. Duse, T. Grunden, 
from S.S. Antarctic, 
wintered here 11/3—28 9, 1903. 



ANTARCTICA. 


480 

This board was lashed last to the pole of the large tent, which 
was afterwards made fast in the wall of the hnt. Under the 
board was placed a bottle containing a short communication 
in English, which Duse and I had written during the last few 
days. It gave a short account of our fate here, and some 
directions to the relief-vessel, which might come to this place 
m consequence of the contents of the despatches left on 
Astrolabe Island. I shall give but a few lines of the docu¬ 
ment in question—those containing a conjecture which after¬ 
wards proved to be correct:— 

“ We have all reason to suppose that captain Larsen, 
after our landing has tried to penetrate the pack outside 
Jomville Island. Thus, fragments of the Antarctic , and its 
crew are to be looked for on the N., E. and S. coasts of 
Joinville Island and adjacent small islands.” 

It was four in the afternoon when all this was ready and 
tile sledge packed. At half-past six we camped near a morame- 
ndge on the slope of the land-ice, wluther we had carried some 
provisions a few days earlier. While we were making our¬ 
selves at home for the night a suspicious wind began to sweep 
around the tent, and by morning the “ wild hunt ” was m 
full cry. Our sleeping-bags were frozen stiff, the tent shook 
beneath the force of the gusts, and I, who had my place to 
windward, lay beneath a heavy mass of snow, which had 
packed itself against the tent wall. Duse, who had under 
taken the anything but agreeable task of being “ mamma ” 
during the sledge journey, crept out of his sack during the 
course of the morning and boiled some porridge, but he was 
obliged to have gloves on while handling the pots and the 
“ Primus ” stove. 

The storm grew more and more violent, while the cold 
increased m intensity, and during the following night the tent- 
wall fell on my head and the snow packed itself over me, so that 
I lay fast as though in a vice. I was not released from my 
position until the storm had subsided, some thirty hours 
later. During the following day there was no thought of 
getting up to prepare any meals, but Duse gave us a ship’s 




Onwaids to Sncw Hill 





482 ANTARCTICA. 

biscuit to nibble at Five of these were all the food we had 
that day. 

Fortunately tor 11s the tempest had blown itself out the 
next day, and Grunden crept out of the bag and made a 
glorious meal ready for us. I was afterwards able to scramble 
out and move my stiffened limbs. 

The sky was now clear and blue, and the sun shone brilliantly 
over the channel and the white slopes of the ice. Down by 
our old headland we could distinguish the hut as a dark spot, 
with the signal-post rising above the wall. 

During the next few days we toiled slowly forwards m 
changeable and, most often, bad weather. We held the 
same course as when we star ted on the first sledge-journey, 
and by the 6th of October we had reached the place formerly 
described as the Bay of the Thousand Icebergs. But now the 
snow lay firm, even and smooth between the innumerable 
hummocks, so that we made pretty rapid progress 

We had chosen the time for our journey to the wintering- 
station, so that we could calculate on being able, if necessary, 
to support ourselves there on seals and penguins ; lor we con¬ 
sidered it extremely improbable that, after two years’ resi¬ 
dence at Snow Hill, our comrades could have anything left 
for three unexpected guests. So we had most lively hopes 
of being able to find some seals even in this sea, though it 
was covered with fast ice, and now began to look eagerly 
about us for the first one. 

Quite near our camping-ground on the sea-ice we soon 
observed a couple of Weddell seals, that had crept up near 
the lane of water near the shore which the tide always keeps 
open. We saw hundreds of them during the following days, 
sometimes alone, or a few together, and sometimes in groups 
of as many as twenty together. They all belonged to the 
same species, the Weddell seal, which evidently is a pro¬ 
nounced shore and fast-ice form, in the same degree that the 
other ordinary Antarctic species, the crab-eating seal, belongs 
to the duft-ice, and those parts of the sea that he far from the 
coast. It is plain that the Weddell seals remain the whole 



CAPE WELL MET! 


483 

winter in places ten miles or so from the outer edge of the 
fast-ice, for we saw in the level ice-field the holes through 
which the seals go up and down, and which they must inces¬ 
santly keep open after the ice has attained to a certain, slight 
degree of thickness, through which they are unable to bieak. 

On October 7th, the second day of our journey across the 
sea-ice, we went a little out of our way to the place where we 



Photo Si/] [G, BODMAN 

Female Weddell seal, with young one 
Motive from Cockburn Island. 


had lost a number of valuable effects during the snowstorm 
of the 8th—iotli January. The snow-diifts had diminished, 
it is true, but they were still large enough to conceal our tilings, 
so that we were soon obliged to give up the search. From 
this spot we obtained a most valuable view of the ice-con¬ 
ditions in the Erebus Gulf. From a point some few miles 
farther east of the mainland on which we were, the ice-edge 
stretched right across the entrance of Crown Pnnce Gustaf 

31* 




484 ANTARCTICA 

Channel (as it is now called) to some distance inside of Cape 
Gordon on Vega Island. Beyond this headland could be seen 
a belt ol ice, but to the east of the fast-ice edge just mentioned 
the sea lay perfectly open as far as wc could sec m the 
misty air. These weie observations which spoke to us m 
unequivocal language Round Cape Gordon there was no 
fast-ice, and if we could manage to reach Snow Hill by 
crossing Vega Island, or by going round its western shore, 
we could be pretty sure that the Antarctic, or a relief vessel, 
would be able to come to us at the station during the course 
of the summer. The icc-ccnditions m the Gulf were plainly 
more favourable now, at the beginning of October, than they had 
been in the middle of January during the preceding summer, 
and in the Antarctic Sound, which had been lull of ice the 
whole of the summer, there was now perfectly open water all 
the way down to Rosamel Island, a state of things we had 
observed several tunes during the course of the last few 
weeks. 

The whole of the forenoon we had had a fresh north-north¬ 
west wind and slush. At noon, whilst we were searching foi 
our things, there came a violent dowmpoui of sleet which 
drenched us through, and m order to keep warm we hurried 
back to the sledge, and went across the sound at full speed 
towards Vega Island. Alter three hours the weather cleared 
up and became pretty fine. 

Then happened one of those sudden changes of tempera¬ 
ture which make this climate so treacherous and dangerous. 
The north wind died away ; for a few minutes the air stood 
quite still, and then came some breaths of wind from the 
south, which grew stronger and stronger, and in a short while 
the temperature had fallen far below fieezing-pomf. Our wet 
clothes became as stilt as steel armour ; they creaked at every 
step we took and our boots were stone hard. We wen 1 
already speaking of stopping and camping when we saw a 
group of seals before us on the ice. How nice some good seal- 
soup would taste ! There were three full-grown ones and a 
young one—the latter, the first of its kind we found, was 



CAPE WELL MET! 


4 8 5 

chosen unhesitatingly for our prize. He was 5+ feet long, a 
sweet, chubby creature, brown on top and with light spots on 
the belly. 

While we weie killing the animal the wind had grown 
in strength and was bitingly cold. When we got the tent 
up and had crept inside, Grunden at once sat down on 
his sleeping-bag, and with anxious looks began to unfasten 
the bindings of his left shoe. He did so quite silently, 
but when he had the boot off he said, with a discordant 
touch of fear in his voice—a touch quite foreign to 
the intrepid, courageous man “ There’s an end of that 
toot ! ” When I tinned towards him I saw a dreadful sight. 
His socks—he had on two—were hozen hard inside the boot 
he had just diawn off, and when I grasped his foot I touched 
two toes—the two biggest—which were quite hard and 
shrivelled. I pinched them and pricked them, but he felt 
nothing, so I took in a basin of snow and began to rub them. 
I rubbed and nibbed without any change being visible, after 
a quarter of an hour the toes weie quite as hard, shrivelled 
and numb as ever. But I thought that the rubbing could 
not make the matter worse at all events, and told Grunden 
not to become impatient. And, in fact, after a time the blood 
began to circulate again, and the frozen parts grew soft and 
assumed their usual size, while sensation returned to the 
two toes. We all three felt a simultaneous tin ill of joy 
run through us when we saw the happy end of what had 
threatened to be a day of misfortune. 

While we were still in the winter hut and there thought of our 
future prospects, we felt pretty certain of being able to find 
the little depot of provisions we had laid up on Vega Island. 
We had chosen the place with the gieatcst care—a little 
isolated hill lying on the slope of the mountain—and the sack 
of bread had been placed upside down, and supported by three 
stays, on the very top of the hill, where it stood like a kind of 
signal-post. 

But when we reached Vega Island on the forenoon of the 
gth of October, we had another proof of the difference made 



486 


ANTARCTICA. 


m the appearance of a landscape by alteiations in the snow- 
conditions. Of all the little hills and great heaps of fallen 
rocks which we had seen here on oui former visit, we now 
saw nothing but one single block of stone, which was clearly 
not the right one. Wc made up our minds, however, not to 
give up the search so easily, and while Duse and Grunden 
walked along the shore to look for a seal, I went farther up 
the ice-slope in order to search for the clepdt. 

I walked on foi a couple of minutes and gazed around at 
the smooth, white mantle where no mark, no sign could be 
seen. But suddenly f caught sight of some dark patches, 
and m their midst stood out dear old sack of biead. Every¬ 
thing was in good order; the tinned provisions, the box of 
butter, and the rest; frozen hard, it is true, but whole and m 
as good condition as when we left them. I turned my mittens 
inside out, and put a few rusks into them as titbits for Duse and 
Grunden. Then I glided down along my old ski-tiacks back 
to the sledge on the sea-ice. 

When Duse and Grunden came back with the daintiest 
parts of a seal they had shot, I was sitting silently on the 
sledge. I could not, for the life of me, shout or wave to them. 
There was too much gravity m the joy I felt; it was a fortune 
we had regained, upon which our safety, perhaps, depended. 

As was natural, my companions were misled by my silence, 
and calm and sell-controlled as they were, they found it use¬ 
less to put a question to which they were certain of obtaining 
a negative leply. 

And then I could be silent no longer, but held out my mittens, 
which I earned attached to a ribbon around my neck. “ Look 
here,” I said, “ I have brought you a taste from the bread- 
sack ! ” 

They looked at me, and then their eyes began to light up 
with gladness, and the gravity in their wild, black visages 
resolved itself into a happy smile. And there was joy and 
much eating of bread on this eventful day, 

We pitched our tent on the slope of the mland-ice. The 
following day was misty and snowy, so that nothing could be 





ANTARCTICA. 


488 

done. And now we could mark the after-effects of the attack 
of frost-bite I have already mentioned. Large blisters began 
to appear on all the toes of Grunden’s left foot, and one of 
Duse’s little toes showed signs of frost-bite. We lanced the 
blisters with the sail-needle and applied a little antiseptic 
cotton-wool we had, and then bound some dirty bandages 
around the whole. 

In spite of their frost-bitten feet, my comrades were still 
inclined to devote some time to the cartographical and geo¬ 
logical investigations which were necessary, if we were to 
gain any insight into the physical features of the tracts we 
had traversed. 

The next day (October nth) the mist lightened m parts 
and gave way to brilliant sunshine. Grunden remained by 
the camp to rest his bad foot and to dry our wet sleeping-bags 
in the sun. Duse went up the slope of the inland-ice on skis in 
order to complete his sketch map and to definitely determine 
whether we were on an island or not. I took my way towards 
Cape Gordon, partly to collect some specimens of rock from 
the highest nunataks which projected from the ice, and also 
to obtain a survey of the ice-conditions in the outer part of 
Sidney Herbeit Sound. I succeeded in my first endeavour, 
but was only so far successful m the second that I caught a 
glimpse, through the heavy fog-banks south of Cape Gordon, 
of a fast field of ice, with seals on it here and there. 

Just at sunset I made my way homewards down the land-ice. 
It was the finest and the longest ski-hill I have ever been on, 
falling some 300 metres (1,000 feet, nearly), with a uniform slope, 
and excellent going, and I went down at a whizzing pace, using 
my staves as brakes, and making long sweeps now to the left 
and now to the right, m order to moderate the speed a little. 

Duse had just returned to the camp. He had made out 
quite clearly that Sidney Herbert Sound was connected 
with Crown Prince Gustaf Channel inside Vega Island, and, as 
he had the same opinion as myself, viz. ■ that the descent from 
the inland-ice of the island southwards towards Sidney 
Herbert Sound would be exceedingly difficult, if not abso- 




The dogs malce a wild dash to one side on catching sight of the two wild men 



490 


ANTARCTICA. 


lutcly impossible, we determined to go back to the sea-ice and 
round the island along its inner coast. 

The next morning came with sunshine and a clear atmo¬ 
sphere. We descended the slope of the land-ice quickly and 
easily, and then marched round “ Devil’s Island ” * westward 
to a jutting headland on Vega Island, to which we had for¬ 
merly given the name of “ Cape Dreyfus,” but which— 
thanks to a wonderful event—we now had reason to rechtisten 
by the name of Cape Well Met. 

At i p.m. we had halted at the cape in order to prepare 
dinner. Groups of seals lay here and there upon the ice , 
we had just passed by a couple of the animals, and a large 
family lay some distance farther out. 

“ What the deuce can those seals be, standing up there 
bolt upright ? ” says one of us, pointing to some small, dark 
objects far away on the ice, m towards the channel. 

“ They are moving,” cries another. 

A delirious eagerness seizes us. A field-glass is pulled out 
“ It’s men ! It’s men 1 ” we shout. 

Duse fired off a couple of pistol-shots and then he and I 
put' on our skis hurriedly and sped away to intercept the 
little party that was moving past us far m our front. 

“ Who are they ? ” Is it a sledge-party from the wintering 
station or can it be people from the Antarctic ? Now they have 
caught sight of us and come to meet us It is two men and a 
dog-sledge, so they must be from Snow Hill, and m the man who 
is running in front of the team we can now recognize Norden- 
skjold. When we come a little nearer, the Greenland dogs 
make a dash to one side on catching sight of the two wild men. 

I could not clearly comprehend what happened in the 
first confused instants of the meeting. I remember only, 
that Duse asked for news of the Antarctic and that I, forgetful 
of my barbarized appearance, held out my hand to Norden- 
skjold with a “ How do you do, Otto ? ” 

“ Thanks,'how are you ? ” answered he m his calm, friendly 
way, but he did not grasp the situation until Duse mentioned 
our names. 

* A small island, so called by us, to the north of Vega Island. 



CAPE WELL MET! 


491 


This, in a few words, is the story ot a meeting which has 
been engraved tor ever m my memory, as with a vehement, 
almost incomprehensible, glow of joy. And thus, at last, 
came the long-delayed nmon, blit m a way we never could 
have conceived, we, who had originally started upon a relief 
expedition, being ourselves discovered when in a most dis¬ 
tressed condition. 



Photo h„] _ t 0> BaD “‘ 1 '' 

Grimden before and after his transformation 


And all that we could give to Nordenskjold and our other 
companions at Snow Hill in return for the exceeding good-will 
they showed us was the news that, before our departure from 
Ushuaia, we had sent instructions home to Sweden m the 
event of a relief expedition being necessary, and also that, 
from what we had seen, the sea-route already lay open far 
into the Erebus and Terror Gulf. 




492 


CHAPTER XIV.* 

AFTER THE MEETING. 

Plans for our future work—Sledge journey to Cockbum Island—Camp life and Viink 
at Seymovir Island'—Andeisson meets with an accident 

With the advent of our newly-discovered comrades to the 
wmtermg-station began a new era in the story of our Expe¬ 
dition. None of us then knew how short was to be the 
remainder of our stay in these tracts, but the weeks we spent 
together were m every respect so unlike those which had 
passed, that we could scarcely recognize that the greater 
part of the staff was the same as before. 

We determined first to organize a short trip to Cockbum 
Island lor the purposes of bringing home some seal and 
penguin meat and of giving Andersson an opportunity of 
making biological studies. I should have very much liked 
to accompany the party, hut as my co-operation was not 
necessary, I gave up my place to Bodman; Jonassen going 
with them to manage the dogs and do the hunting. On their 
return, Andersson, Sobral and I were to go over to Seymour 
Island as soon as possible, and remain there a couple of weeks 
for geological and magnetic investigations. Duse was to 
begin some cartographical work as soon as his foot would 
permit. 

The sledge-party left on the 21st, and came back on the 23rd 
exceedingly pleased with the results they had obtained. 
Andersson had made some interesting geological discoveries. 

* Here the narrative is le&umed by Dr Nordenslcjuld. 




Horn coraL 

Off Se) mout Island So fath * of naiuial size 




494 


ANTARCTICA. 


The lower part of the island had proved to consist of scdi- 
raentaiy foimations ot the same appearance and age as those 
of Snow Hill, but had m pails a ricliei fossil fauna. Ovei 
these extended the liaid bank of basalt which gives the 
island its chai acteristic appeal ance, and above this there 
appeared to be another fossilifeious deposit, altogethei 
different to those we had hitheito discovered in these legions. 
Bodman had succeeded in climbing to the highest point of 



Photcby] [a Bodman, 

Weather wmn masses of rock, containing fossils, on the plateau at Snow 
Hill Island. 


the island—450 meties (1,470 feet) above the sea. He 
described the upper plateau as being a verdant meadow of 
moss. He brought with him some specimens of basalt- 
lava, but the island cannot be considered as a real volcano 
On October 26th, Andersson, Sobral and I set out on our 
sledge-] ourney, having one sledge and four dogs. The going 
was very bad and we were soon obliged to harness 0111 selves 
to the sledge, and five hours elapsed ere we reached the dep6t 





Andersson and Jonassen brought bach the meat o£ about 70 cormorants, and penguins from Cochbum Island 






The camp at CockTmin Island- 






32 


[G EOdmak 



ANTARCTICA 


498 

on Seymour Island. It had been my intention to continue 
the journey farther northwards, but we found it all too 
convenient and tempting to have the penguin colony around 
us, and when we had once pitched our tent nothing more 
was said about going farther on. On the first day we visited 
the site of the plant fossils, but with the bad weather we had, 
we made no very rich finds On the following days we made 
expeditions, each of us 111 different directions. We had no 
fine weather until the 30th, when Sobral began Ins magnetic 
work, leaving Andersson and myself to go northwards along 
the shore, up to the hills where I had found the fossil penguin- 
bones a year before. Wc obtained a good supply of material, but 
we did not succeed in finding any new, rich localities of the 
same description, as I had long hoped we should do, my 
former visit having been of such short duration. 

I have seldom found myself in such a situation as just at 
that period. The Expedition was not yet concluded ; hopes 
and fears predominated alternately in our bosoms, for all 
possibilities were still quite open to us, and yet this two years’ 
monotony had been broken by this new, personal life. While 
I write these lines my thoughts fly back across the sea to 
this island, so rich in scientific treasures, so rich in memories 
of important incidents. I have nothing but happy recollec¬ 
tions of this last week here, and I never think of it but 
with feelings of gratitude towards the comrade whose presence 
there formed the last link m a chain of daring attempts to 
bring us help, and who had previously done so much to promote 
the success of the Expedition. 

It was almost with a leelmg of disquiet that we now looked 
forward to the all too early arrival of a vessel. Of course, 
at that time of the year we did not think it possible that we 
could be relieved by any other ship than the Antarctic, and 
its arrival would naturally, and under all circumstances, 
be most warmly welcomed; but, on the other hand, there still 
remained so much interesting work for us to do, that we 
earnestly hoped to enjoy several weeks of fine weather ere 
we were finally obliged to leave these shores. 




In Lei view between the dogs and an empoioi penguin 







500 


ANTARCTICA. 


On the 3rd of November, I returned to Snow Hill and found 
that Duse’s foot was better and that he had made all prepara¬ 
tions for beginning his work. He intended making a sledge- 
journey to Loclcyer Island the next day, in company with 
Ekelof and Jonassen, so that I came in good time to keep 
Bodman company and to assist him with the observations 
dunng the following days. On the 4th and 5th I remained at 
Snow Hill, therefore, and busied myself with work up on the 
glacier, but, after having the first watch on the 6tli, I returned 
to Seymour Island after breakfast, taking with me a little load 
of specially chosen trifles to make our life out thei e still more 
agreeable. I had gone more than three-fourths of the way, 
when I saw two dark figures coming towards me and soon 
recognised Andersson and Sobral, who were hurrying home 
to Snow Hill. The former had burned his hand very badly 
and they had at once taken down the provisional tent and 
were now on theii way to seek medical aid at the station 

This was a sorrowful interruption to the happy life we 
had led It made us uneasy lest the hand should be per¬ 
manently injured, and in any case, there was an end to 
Andersson’s work for the time being. On reaching home, 
however, Bodman and I heard such an enticing account of 
the good time Andersson and Sobral had been having for 
the last few days—of how they had ]ust found the first pengum- 
eggs, and had killed a young seal, whose meat and blubber 
had been put aside lor keeping, whilst the blood had been 
collected for making blood-pancakes (it was when frying 
these that the accident had happened), that Bodman decided 
to take advantage of the opportunity, and determined to go 
to the island the next day with Akerlund for the purpose 
of collecting a supply of pengum-eggs for the station. 

It was unfortunate that the doctor happened to be away 
just then, but the sledge-party was expected back the next 
day and during the meanwhile we treated the injured hand 
as well as we could. Bodman and Akerlund had started in 
the morning, Grunden undertaking the work m the kitchen. 
The day passed without anything being seen of the members 



AFTER THE MEETING 


Soi 

of the sledge-party, and I was obliged to bandage Andersson’s 
hand again myself. About n p.m., just when the house 
was growing quiet, we heard the barking of the dogs, and m 
a little while the sledge came driving up on to the shore. 
They had had a glorious trip; Duse had done some carto¬ 
graphic work and had also ascended Lockyei Island, whose 
top lies 450 meters (1,470 feet) above sea-level 

My diary for the 7th November closes with the following 
words . “ The evening observations have for a long time 



J’hoto by] [&• 1^0 DM AN 

Outside the obsei vatory m summer weather. 


been taken without the help of a lantern; to-day, for the 
first time, we ate supper without a light. But the evening 
is a magnificent one; the moon has risen behind Seymour 
Island and shines grandly, a full, gold-yellow disc, but low 
down near the horizon. Everything else we see around us 
presents nothing but a picture of winter, both the ice, which 
lies unbroken as far as one can see from here, and the pale 
blue, cloudless sky.” 

Little did I think then that these were the last words I 
should write in my diary while at the wintermg-station. 





502 


CHAPTER XV. 

A DAY OF WONDERS. 

The Sth of November, 1903—Arrival of the Argentine relief vessel—We prepaie to 
leave the wintering station—Latsen, K. A Andcrsson and -Some companions 
ainve from l’aulct Island. 

The 8th of November, 1903, began, as so many of the pre¬ 
ceding days had done, with calm, fine weather, but still 
without any distinguishing features We breakfasted, and I 
stayed at home during the morning, as no long expedition 
could be thought of until everybody was back again, but we 
expected Bodman during the course of the afternoon. So 
I was not at first very much surprised when someone came 
into the dining-room where I sat writing and said to me, 
“ Come out and look ; there are some people coming over the 
ice, but I can’t make li out, for there seem to be four persons.” 
We had no special reason for thinking that the couple we 
expected home from Seymour Island would return at such an 
early hour, but I supposed that it must be they, and that the 
remark about there being four persons must depend upon 
mistake. 

Still, before many mmutes had gone by we were all assembled 
outside the end of the house, where we had so many times 
before stood looking across the ice. Those of us who had a 
field-glass at hand took it with them. We could plainly see 
that there was something black moving along far away on 
the ice, but the details could not be seen with any distinctness. 
We look at each other ; none are absent hut those two at 



A DAY OF WONDERS. 


503 


Seymour Island ; we are here all seven of us—and it cannot 
be the dogs, for most of these are lying here and there on 
the hill, and, besides, they never go away by themselves. It 
is much more probable that it is some penguins marching 
across the ice. But that is impossible, for the one m front is 
undoubtedly a man, and the others are of the same size and 
appearance. All at once they come plainly into view : they 
are four—four men—who are approaching on the ice ! 

At a decisive moment, when the unexpected happens, our 
behaviour is often quite unlike what one could expect it to be. 
It is true that we were all seized with a superficial agitation ; 
we called to each other m encouraging tones such words as, 
“ You see I was right when I thought that the Antarctic would 
come,” and so on ; but, on the whole, a spectator would not 
have supposed that we had suddenly learned that we were 
now to be restored to life. One or two of us even remained 
at the station, but all the others rushed at full speed down to 
the ice m order to meet the new arrivals, without a thought 
of making any kind of preparation for their reception. As 
soon as we had come a long way out on the ice, we thought 
that they made but very slow progress, but imagined that 
the explanation of this lay in our own impatience. Now and 
then they disappeared from view behind a hummock, and we 
almost began to believe that the whole thing was a creation 
of our imagination. Now we see one of the number leave the 
rest of the party and hurry forward to meet us. Who can 
it be ? “ It’s certainly Larsen ! ” say we, and we all think 

we recognise his steady gait. “ No, it can’t be Larsen ; 

o o 

isn’t it Alcerlund ? ” says another. “No, Akerlund hasn’t a 
cap like that; it must be Larsen, who wants to be the first to 
meet us.” “ Sha’n’t we give a cheer ? ” asks one. “ No, no, 
not yet; let’s make sure,” was my answer. A moment later 
we can see quite plainly that it is Akerlund who is coming 
towards us. We shall at least hear the solution of the riddle. 
We scarcely dare to question him, and it is he who speaks first. 

“ There’s an Argentine ship out there, but they have heard 
nothing of the Antarctic! ” 



504 


ANTARCTICA 


For the second time within a month we stand face to face 
with one of those moments when one’s whole world of sense 
seems to resolve itself into a mist, in the presence of the intense 
feeling of the all-subverting, unexpected new which draws us 
into its vortex. We had been so convinced that at this time 
of the year no vessel but the A ntarctic could come, that when 
we saw the party approaching, we did not for a moment doubt 
that it was our old companions coming towards us. Had we 
learned of the loss of the Antarctic in an ordinary way, the blow 
would have been a crushing one, and nothing more. But 
now the news, together with the knowledge that we were to 
be released m this unexpected way, and the thought of the 
enormous responsibility resting m the decision that would 
have to be made witlun the next few hours, seemed, for the 
moment, to deprive me of all power of motion. Sorrow was 
depicted on every countenance, for everyone saw how small 
was the hope of ever again seeing the comrades we had left 
on board the Antarctic. 

But for the moment there was no time for brooding, and 
still less was it a suitable occasion to let sorrow or anxiety 
paralyse thought We had to hurry on to meet the two 
officers who weie coming to meet us m company with Bod- 
man Sobral—the one who now had most reason to feel 
himself at home—was the first to say that all our efforts 
must at once be directed to the discovery of the fate of the 
Antarctic. The decision, however, had to be left to the 
commander of the relieving expedition. 

Then came the moment when we exchanged greetings out 
on the ice—we who, during the course of many long months, 
had gradually come to consider this ice and these naked rocks 
as our home and our kingdom—and our two guests and rescuers, 
Commodore Julian Inzar, commander of the relief vessel, the 
Uruguay, and Lieutenant J. Jalour. I do not remember 
what we first said to each other, but ere many minutes had 
passed we learned how matters stood; how, when nothing 
was heard of the Antarctic , the Argentine Government had 
equipped one of their vessels entirely on our account, the said 




Our first meeting with the Argentine naval officers 



ANTARCTICA 


506 

vessel now lying off Seymour Island, and how measures had 
been taken in Sweden, too, for the despatch of a relief expedi¬ 
tion (the whaler Fnthiof having been hired lor the pur¬ 
pose) of which Captain Gylden, the commander of the 
Antarctic during the expedition m 1901 for the mensura¬ 
tion'of latitudes, was to be the leader. 

On board the Uruguay there were no letters or other direct 
communications to us But all other news was of little 
weight when compared with that we had already heard. 
Bodman, who, of course, had already had the opportunity of 
questioning our rescuers, now hurried home to make prepara¬ 
tions for their reception, while we others came on with our 
guests, who were rather fatigued with the long and, for them, 
unusual march. 

We arrived at last at the station and felt proud of being able 

Q 

to welcome our guests at our table, which Akerlund had spread 
with what to us seemed a veritable banquet. I do not know 
what our new friends thought ot it, but the whole doubtlessly 
appeared somewhat shabby, dirty and smoky. 

Captain Inzar begged us in the friendliest manner possible 
to accompany him on board the Uruguay as his guests, and to 
return to civilization. He asked what tune we should require 
ere we were ready to start, and was glad to hear that, if neces¬ 
sary, two days would be sufficient. The second point for 
consideration was, of course, to discuss what measures could 
be taken to discover the fate of our missing comrades on 
board the Antarctic. Two possibilities offered themselves: 
the one, to leturn at once to the nearest telegraph-station and 
determine our course ol action by the information we might 
receive there ; the other, to commence our search for the 
missing vessel before wc returned to the outer world. It 
was evident that Captain Irizar was most inclined to adopt 
the first alternative, but he gave me to understand that his 
line of action should be determined, as far as it was possible, 
by our opinion of the probability of being able to discover 
Captain Larsen and lus companions. 

There could be no thought of work, of course, as long as our 




The valley where we dwelt, between the Snow Hill glacier and the mow free land 
The magnetic obser\ atory is visible m the middle 




ANTARCTICA 


joS 

guests were with us The hours went all too quickly, but 
Captain Irizar was anxious to return on board as soon as 
possible, and to facilitate his return, I told Jonassen to harness 
the dogs to the sledge. Duse was anxious to make use of the 
last day we had m order to carry out some cartographical 
work on Seymour Island, and he left the station with Grunden 
in company with our guests, and, as he thought, for the 
last time. 

We at once set about our many preparations for departure, 
the only ok]ects we could think of taking being our collections, 
the most important instruments and the more valuable of our 
private effects. My first care was to write a report for the 
commander of the Swedish relief expedition, informing him, 
at the same time, of the little we knew concerning the latest 
plans of those on board the Antarctic. The tracts around 
which we imagined the search for the vessel should chiefly 
be made were the neighbourhood of Hope Bay, Paulet Island, 
and at the Danger Islands. 

None of us intended going to bed that night. Each one 
was working silently at his own tasks, and I myself sat at my 
desk writing the fiist words of the report—“ Alter serious 
consideration we have all determined to make use of this 
opportunity to return ”—when we heard the dogs begin to 
bark and howl. At any other time we should have attributed 
this noise to a fight and have gone out to separate them, but 
now we were not in such a hurry ; still, one of us went and cast 
a look through the opened door When he returned, he said 
that there were people down on the ice—“ Six or eight men, 
I think ” 

There had been a question of Captain Irizar’s sending us 
some men from the Uruguay as soon as he returned on board, 
and we thought that it was probably they who were coming. 
But as it was only 10.30 p m., it was, of course, quite im¬ 
possible that Captain Irizar could have reached the vessel and 
sent the men, so that it was strange that the news of the 
approach of the party did not awaken more attention. Wc 
were so occupied with our work, too, that it was some time 



[NORD ENPKJ 0 LJ>. 

Weathei-worn, solitary basalt pillai near 0 ir wintering place. 



510 


ANTARCTICA. 


ere any of us took the trouble to go to see who the people 
were, but at last Bodman went out to solve the riddle. 

Midsummer was yet far distant, and although the night was 
clear and mild, still it was pretty dark. Out on the lull there 
was a group of men looking up at the flag which still waved 
above our house Bodman approached them slowly, for he 
thought they were foreigners, and it would of course be 
difficult to find words with which to address them. Sud¬ 
denly his eyes open wide with astonishment. Is it an optical 
delusion, produced by the anxieties ol the day, or is reality 
once more about to surpass all that expectation and imagina¬ 
tion combined could ever picture ? The next few seconds will 
decide whether the days of miracles are past; he moves with 
hesitating steps to meet a figure that has left the group and 
is advancing to meet him. 

The next moment, wild, ear-piercing cheers, mingled with 
shouts of “ Larsen! Larsen is here 1 1 ” tear us away m an 
instant from the work we have in hand As a matter of fact, 
we have experienced so much during the last few days that 
nothing can seem impossible to us ; but still, I can scarcely 
believe my ears. There must be some mistake ; it must be 
the day’s unrest that has made one of us give a form of reality 
to his wishes But I hurry out like the rest, and the next 
instant all doubts are vanished. There on the hill, m the 
half-gloom of the summer night, I am welcoming Larsen, K A. 
Andersson and their four companions, who, after this “long 
divorce ” of place and tune, have arrived from their forced 
wintering on Paulet Island just in time to join us. 

No pen can describe the boundless joy ol this first moment 
It was plain that both misfortune and suffering were hidden 
in the period, so long concealed m the mists of uncertainty, 
that lay between this hour and the departure ol the Antarctic 
from Hope Bay. I learned at once that our dear old ship was 
no more in existence, but for the instant I could feel nothing 
hut joy when I saw amongst us these men, on whom I had only 
a few minutes before been thinking with feelings ol the greatest 
despondency, and when I recollected that now we could all 



A DAY OF WONDERS. 


5n 



The leader of the Argentine Relief Expedition 


512 


ANTARCTICA. 


leave these tracts in company. However deeply I was touched 
by the communication that a young and able seaman of then- 
number had died at his post, I could not but remember with 
infinite gratitude that all the others had preserved both life 
and health 

We conducted the newcomers m triumph to the building, 
where everything was at once produced that was calculated 
to gladden men who had spent a winter in misery , for 
these were guests who were certainly more able to enjoy 
what was set before them than were our friends of the 
morning. 

Of what infinite importance was it not that the two parties 
had arrived in the order they did ! Wennersgaard’s death, 
the loss of the Antarctic, the sufferings of the party, the un¬ 
certain future—all this, coming before the arrival of the Argen¬ 
tine vessel, would have been a terrible blow, but everything 
was now swallowed up in the satisfaction felt m the rescue 
of the many. 

Our joy was not unclouded, though I had hoped it would 
be so for the remainder of the wonderful day. But for me, at 
least, it was not. I did not dare to enquire for news from 
home, and, ere receiving the now eighteen months old corre¬ 
spondence they had brought, I had learned from Larsen—on 
the same hill where I had so often wandered amid winter- 
storms and summer sunshine, where I had experienced so 
many glad hopes and gloomy hours—that I should never 
more find the home I had left ; that never more m life should 
I meet him, my father, to whom I had so often longed to relate 
the events of these years. 

I lay down for a while m my berth, but without trying to 
sleep. In a short tune I heard the sledge party return, and 
found that Duse, when he learned from Captam Irizar how 
necessary he considered it for us to hasten our departure, 
had relinquished his plan of doing a little cartographical work, 
and had returned m order to communicate the intelligence 
to us. I need not describe the joy with which he and his 
companion greeted our new-found comrades, 



A DAY OF WONDER 


5i3 

I rose at once and recommenced my interrupted labour. 
We should be ready by evening, for now there was no reason 
for delay, and with all the help we had at our disposal, 
the work of transport would, of course, be considerably 
lightened. 



33 



514 


CHAPTER XVI. 

FROM SNOW HILL TO FAULET ISLAND. 

Packing up—Good-bye (.0 Snow Ilill—Back to the hous>e ouce mote—On boaid 
the Uuiifiiay —Amval at Paulet Island—The members of the expedition once 
more united. 


OUT of their hiding- 
places came all our sacks 
and boxes, and packing- 
up was soon m full swing. 
Much of what we in¬ 
tended taking was al¬ 
ready prepared, and had 
but to be carried down 
to the shore so that 
the first sledges could 
drive away at sunrise. 
The transport was long 
and difficult, the ice was 
rather bad, and everything had to be taken nearly four miles 
to the eastern cape of the island. We had already been 
warned that there was not much room on board the relief 
vessel, and as on reaching Buenos Ayres we had still a long 
ocean-jonrney before us, we had no choice than to leave a 
great many things behind us, valuable either in themselves, 
or because of the memories with which they were associated. 

Larsen went off to the Uruguay the first thing m the morning, 
and was received with glad astonishment, as one nsen from 



FROM SNOW HILL TO PALLET ISLAND. 515 

the dead The second in command, Lieutenant Hermelo, had 
previously come to me at the station in order to inform me 
that his chief had resolved to do his utmost to discover the 
missing paity, and I was now able to inform him that the 
intended search would be limited to a call at Paulet Island. 

We had had very fine weather during the last few days, but 
a strong wind now began to blow, and it was easy to see that 
our getting the things on board would meet with almost 
insuperable difficulties. Sledge after sledge was sent off 
packed with the heaviest loads that the dogs and men could 



I’hotoby ] [G. TUinuAV 

Out last hour ot waiting on the shove 


draw. During the course of the day one after the other ot 
those who have finished then work at the house stay down 
by the headland, awaiting a favourable opportunity to go on 
board the vessel Late in the afternoon we have at last sent 
down to the shore the most valuable part of our equipment, 
with our notes, photographs, and the more delicate instru¬ 
ments ; everything stands ready and I go for a last turn 
through the rooms where we have experienced so much during 
the past years, and which now look so lonely and disordered. 
The door is barred as carefully as possible, and we hurry 
down to the goods. We cast one look back at the house 

33* 



5 i 6 ANTARCTICA 

to which so many memories are attached, and then start off 
along the ice. 

The load was very heavy, and the sledges sank constantly 
into the deep sludge, but on we went, and were soon at the 
place where the former burdens had been unloaded. Every¬ 
thing was still lying there. Our comrades who had arrived 
before sat there yet, and not even Lieutenant Hermelo had 
been able to come on board, although the night had come on. 
The Uruguay was steaming backwards and forwards a little 
way from the land; the sea ran high it is true, but still we 
expected a boat to put off for us. Hour after hour passed 
without our being able to see any sign that we had been 
observed, and at last we found that we had no other choice 
than to return to the station and once more seek sheltei 
under its roof. We went back through a cold, biting snow¬ 
storm, and we all slept well that last night we spent under 
the roof of Snow Hill wintering-station. 

We rose early the next morning. The weather was better 
than it had been the day before, but it was by no means calm 
The Uruguay had her boat out, however, and very soon, with 
rapid sweeps of Lhe oars, we were making for the relief vessel, 
floating there proudly on the waves. Her officers and crew 
had lined the sides of the ship ; the Swedish flag waved at 
the top as we approached, and on stepping on to her deck we 
were greeted with a thundering cheer. It was a solemn 
moment, our Expedition, with all its cares and trials and 
all its rich harvest of work and discoveries, was now come to 
an end—we were henceforth merely guests and passengers. 

Captain Irizar had declared his willingness to stop for a 
little while off Seymour Island, m order that a boat mi ght 
fetch off the collection we had left there. The day was far 
advanced ere this work was completed and we could begin 
our northward journey m earnest. How strange it feels to 
be journeying in this way when we think of our wanderings 
on foot or with the sledge ! How changed our condition 
within the short period of but two days ! But in the joy we 
feel in the certainty of now being on our way home, and in the 



FROM SNOW HILL TO PAULET ISLAND 517 

knowledge that we aie henceforth free fiom the cares which 
have so long bmdened our minds, theie mingles not a little 
melancholy. A phase of our lives has ended, nevei more to 
return. How many memories aie there not attached to every 
lock the eye falls upon ! Nevei, never can I forget these two 
naked sandstone islands which have been our home for two 
long years ! 

I have yet one caie remaining, and eie that is done I will 



Photo hy] 


On the way out to the Uruguay. 


[G BODMAN. 


not give way to slumber when night comes, but after a short 
rest I go on deck again before we reach Paulet Island. We 
come nearer and neaier; with the glass we can already dis¬ 
tinguish the huge signal the shipwiecked crew have erected 
m order to attract the attention of the expected rescue-ex¬ 
pedition. Everything sleeps except the crowds of penguins 
sporting around us m the water ; they rush past as if to show 
us the way to the shore where our twelve comrades are dream¬ 
ing of the rescue that, unknown to them, is now so near. We 
double the last cape, and before us hes the immense penguin 





ANTARCTICA. 


SiS 

colony I visited twenty-two months betore fiom the Antarctic. 
Someone points out to us a low, dark, scarcely visible mass 
of stones, which has so long formed all that our companions 
there could call by the name of home. 

It is exactly four o’clock ; the sun’s disc begins to show itself 
above the horizon, and clothes the scene with a glittering glory 
The stillness is broken suddenly by the Uruguay's steam- 
whistle. Once ! Twice ! Three times it sounds ! The sounds 
come back m shrill echoes from the cliffs. Never m my life 
have I partaken m a more pathetic drama. Solemn is a 
word too weak to describe the scene Everything is so 
different from those remarkable moments when I myself 
have been the one affected by the event. Here I am really 
nothing but a spectator, but my feelings arc perhaps the 
deeper, that we all come as unexpected rescuers to men, in a 
position the gloom of which could hardly be surpassed. 

Many seconds do not elapse after the signal has sounded, 
ere signs of life are noticed in the stone heap, from which 
one man after the other comes creeping out through the 
opening. One sees in fancy the looks of wonder with which 
they look at our vessel, uncertain as yet whether it be a dream 
or reality; we see them gesticulating and speaking to each 
other vehemently , we see them come slowly down lo the 
shore. Our boats are soon near the land. We are met by 
our comrades—sooty, dirty, emaciated, m tattered clothes, 
but with their countenances, on which suffering has impressed 
its melancholy seal, beaming with ]oy. We greet each other— 
after changing fates the members of the Expedition are once 
more united ! 

There was a little work to be done ere we could continue our 
journey. It was almost with reverence that we looked at 
the damp, black hut where all these men had spent their 
winter. We removed from it all articles of any value, both 
those which had been saved from the Antarctic and the 
scientific treasures which had been gathered during the resi¬ 
dence of the party on the island A large depot of provisions 
was also established here by the Uruguay, and it was 



FROM SNOW HILL TO PAULET ISLAND 519 

difficult to repress a feeling of 1 egret when we thought what all 
the supply of pieserved foods, sugai, biead, etc, would have 
meant to oui comiades had they been there a few months 
earliei It may be added that theie was no small amount of 
provisions left behind here by our own Expedition, both in 
the form of preserved foods, ship’s biscuits, petroleum and 
other ai tides 

We had yet anothei task to perfoim. One of oui party had 
been busy the pievious day on board the Uruguay making a 



Photo &y] Bouitan 

The stone hut on Paulel Island, with the Uiu^nay off the island 


wooden cioss, with an inscription, which it was intended to 
place on the highest point of the immense cairn marking the 
spot wheie Wenneisgaard sleeps his last sleep. We stood in 
silence aiound the stone heap, deeply giateful to Him who 
had exempted us fiom lemammg, fai fiom our native land and 
all those dear to us, heie upon this desolate shore, where the 
crowds of penguins would soon be the only watchers aiound 
oui comrade’s grave 

All our work was perfoimed with energy, but the depdt was 



520 


ANTARCTICA. 


large, and the distance to the landing-place pretty consider¬ 
able. The hours pass, however, and we are at length ready 
to go on board. We carefully reckon all who go down into 
the boats, so that no one may be forgotten at the last minute. 
We once more board the relief vessel, which now turns her 
head towards the third wintering-place—Hope Bay. 

And here we may let the participators in this wintering- 
party, themselves describe their remarkable adventures, from 
the moment when Andersson and his companions landed at 
Hope Bay, until the two days of re-union, the 8th and the nth 
of November, 1903. 



CHAPTER XVII 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END * 

The witchery of the Ice World—An attempt to pass outside Joinville Island—Caught 
in the ice—A nip—We spring a leak 

It is strange that the ice can be so endless, so full of variety, 
so inteiestmg, m spite of its unparalleled monotony. How 
great are not the suffeimgs it has caused us ? And yet, for 
us it can never lose its charm. How heavy and grey it lies 
amid storm and mist, how dead, how gloomy! How it glitters, 
as with a thousand diamonds, in the full flood of sunlight, 
enlivened with its own animal woild that drinks deep draughts 
of sunshine and liberty ! What tinges of blue in a hundred 
shifting shades, when it catches the last dying rays of day; 
how entrancmgly cold and silver-clear beneath the bewitching 
glimmer of the moon. Vain is every attempt to stand un- 

* Chapters XVII. to XXIII, inclusive, are by C J. Skottsberg. 




522 


ANTARCTICA. 


moved in the presence of the majesty of the Ice-World. What 
is there, what can there be, more calculated to call forth 
overpowering emotions in the human breast ? 

On the 29th of December, 1902, J. G. Andeisson, Captain 
(then Lieutenant) Duse, and the sailor Grunden had left us 
m order to attempt to reach Snow Hill across the mland- 
ice, and we had parted from them with a cheerful “ We shall 
soon meet at the wintering-station ! ” At ix p.m. wc caught 
our last glimpse of them as they drew their sledge up the slope 
of the snow-covered land, at the edge of which began the 
inland-ice. 

We steered from the land northwards m order to endeavour 
to round Joinville Island. On the whole, the ice-conditions 
were the same as on the occasion of our previous attempt, 
but with the difference that more open ice now extended so 
far eastward that we managed to come past Mtna, Island, 
one of the Danger Islands. But the ice closed again imme¬ 
diately afterwards, so that we were soon obliged to lie-to. 

On New Year’s Eve we forced the ice for a distance towards 
the east, but in the evening we had to stop once more and 
make fast to a large floe. 

Imprisoned again ! In some way, an open space had been 
formed m the ice farther south, and as a heavy storm from 
the north was blowing, the natural result was that the ice 
commenced drifting southwards. This began on New Year’s 
Day, but it was first on the 2nd of January that the drift 
attained its full force. It would not be easy to find an 
account of a more adventurous journey. The Antarctic was 
carried helplessly by the ice towards the south—now with 
her bows, now with her stern, now with her broadside first. 
Onwards we had to go , swiftly; amid a hundred lurking 
dangers; amidst islands and islets, icebergs and hidden reefs. 

It seemed wonderful to ns that the ship escaped. She 
tacked betWeen icebergs, and through channels so narrow 
that we should never have dared to go there even with perfectly 
ice-free water. 




Th ei^Anfarettc amongst pressvue hummocks 



524 ANTARCTICA. 

Towards the evening of the 2nd, however, the drifting 
diminished so much, that we almost began to fear that the 
current would force us hack on to the land, and by Larsen’s 
advice we slept with our clothes on, ready to leave our berths 
at the first signal 

January 4th .—It was early in the morning that the ice 
began to open so that we could use our propeller. The sea in 
front giew clearer and clearer and we soon came into a lead. 
Larsen, sanguine as ever, thought that we could now make 
direct for the wintering-station, hut it was not long ere he dis¬ 
covered that we were only in a large lead, and that further 
south the ice was as close as ever. We passed Paulet Island 
some distance off, its coasts being quite blocked with ice. 
As it was a long time since the vessel had sailed m open water, 
we resolved to use the opportunity and make a dredging, 
together with a sounding and observations of the temperature 
The many peculiar animals we obtained brightened our 
humours somewhat—a very necessary operation, too, for by 
live m the afternoon ice was reported in all directions, 
stretching as lar as the eye could reach. There was nothing 
else for us to do but to moor fast to a large piece of ice and 
wait again. 

My diary shall speak for me :— 

January 10 th .—“ When I woke I found we were m the 
midst of a heavy snow-storm. The wind sang gloomily through 
the rigging, and drove masses of snow violently before it. 
Our boat grew whiter with every minute that passed—masts, 
chimneys, and all, were covered with a rind of ice. 

“ During the forenoon the pressure on the sides of the vessel 
—which had begun yesterday—could scarcely be marked, 
but after dinner, just as we sat down to a hand at cards, 
the ship began to tremble like an aspen leaf, and a violent 
crash sent us all up on deck to see what the matter was. 
The pressure was tremendous; the vessel rose higher and 
higher, while the ice was crushed to powder along her sides. 
The ship’s stern now stood four feet higher out of the water 
than usual, but this caused us no uneasiness, for if the vessel 




After the combat with the it 




526 


ANTARCTICA. 


would only rise to a sufficient height, i.e., until the pressure 
no longer affected her, she would, of course, be quite safe. 

“ In the evening the first mate walked to and tro m the 
gun-room philosophising. ‘ Just think how lucky we’ve been 
the whole time 1 We’ve had extraordinary good-luck m every 



Photo by] [C A LARSUS 

The l.xst embrace. 


difficulty ! It would be strange if any misfortune should 
happen now 1 ’ 

“ A presentiment perhaps.” 

A crash, as though the vessel’s sides are being riven 
asunder !—The one smashing noise after the other, and the 
boat leans over to starboard. With one bound I am out of 
my berth and up on deck. No one can be seen I run aft and 
meet one of the sailors—“ Is anything wrong ? ” I ask,—“ I 

don’t know yet, but-” “ All hands on deck 1 ” comes the 

cry of the first mate I hurry down to my cabin to dress, 





THE BEGINNING OF THE END 


527 

and put a few trifles mto my pockets. In five minutes I am 
ready, and rush on deck again to help in the work there. 

The men are running about in all dnections, but there is 
no confusion, not a trace of fear or doubt, all are working 
systematically at high pressure, some m order to collect the 
most important necessaries—provisions, clothes, etc., while 
others aie bringing out the pumps and examining the stern 
of the vessel to see if anything can be done to stop the leak. 
“ The pumps are keeping the water down as yet! ” comes 
a cry. 

For the first few hours we held ourselves in readiness to 
leave the vessel, but the pumps seemed to be able to keep the 
water at the same level, and by degrees we grew a little calmer. 
The cook and the steward went about their work as though 
nothing had happened, and at the usual time we assembled 
at breakfast down in the gun-room, where the events of the 
night were discussed. 



528 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

TOWARDS DESTRUCTION. 

Dangerous situation of the vessel—We keep H.M. King Oscai’s buthday—A spint 
towards the land —We prepare to leave the vessel—-Death of the Ant an tic 

The first night after the “ nip ” was calm , the position of 
the ship unchanged and the ice lay still. In the morning 
wc began to take away the snow and ice around the rudder 
m order to see how matters were there, and after much trouble 
we came down to the level of the water. It was by no means 
a cheering sight we saw, with wide openings between the 
planks, and the rudder broken off. We could see that the 
propeller was still in its place, but in what condition it was, 
no one could tell. We stopped the holes as well as we could, 
but to little use, as the chief leak was not here 

The Antarchc lay with her stern lifted on to the sharp, 
projecting foot of a large piece of ice, to which position she 
had been forced by the pressure of another floe to port 
The rattling, everlastingly unchanged, noisy discontent 
of the pumps is heard hour after hour, day after day. It 
reminds us constantly of our position, calls us incessantly 
on deck to ask for the latest news or to look below to see how 
high the water stands That rattle of the pumps will never 
leave my memory; the sound will ever remind me of the 
longest days of my life. 

On the 16th of January, I was awakened by the vessel 
beginning to move. Some change must have taken place, 
so I dressed at once and hurried on deck. A fissure in the 
ice had suddenly opened m front of our bows and the Antarctic 



TOWARDS DESTRUCTION 529 

had righted herself, The ice had drawn back from the vessel, 
foi rmng even walls, seven leet high, on which one could plainly 
see impressions of the sides of the ship. 

On the night before the 21st, hope wakened m our hearts 
again at the rise of a fresh breeze from the north-west. The 
entire mass of ice loosened from the land, and began to drift 



Photo by] 


At work on the injured stern. 


[O. a. Lassen 


towards the south-east, and, of course, carried the Antarctic 
with it. What would have been the result had we really 
come out into open water ? But one, most probably, and 
that—destruction. 

It is a festival on board—H.M. King Oscar’s birthday. The 
Swedish flag is hoisted at the peak, the Norwegian at the 
mizzen, and at 8 a m. we fire a salute of 21 guns. At dinner¬ 
time we all gather on deck and drink His Majesty’s and 

34 



530 


ANTARCTICA 


Crown Prince G-ustaf’s healths. We are m the sunniest of 
spirits , the wind is noith-west and the leak better than ever, 
for the stem-pump alone is able to keep the water down Wc 
go about and drink each other’s health. 41 Skal, lads ! We’ll 
bring the old boat home to Stockholm 310! 1 ” 

On the 22nd of January, the fresh bieeze and the drifting 
still continued The ice began to open a little, and now we 
could cleaily see the ice-foot to starboard and how the vessel’s 
stern rested on it It caused us much uneasiness that we 
could not get the vessel loose from this ice-foot; for should 
the ice begin to disperse, we should be unable to take advantage 
of the opportunity thus offered to us 

February 3rd was a notcwortly da3 r . During the 

couise of the forenoon eveiytlung was as usual, with the ice 
as fast as ever, although the whole field drifted somewhat. 
We were now almost halfwaj’- between Paulct and Cockburn 
Islands.'^Towards evening an unpleasant piece ot ice we 
had under oui bows pressed strongly onwards and made 
the Antarctic heel over a little to port. But that was 
too much for our old piece of ice; the foot broke, the 
piece of ice rose m the air and we were afloat! But 

' the blow has been too heavj’’, the leak grows worse 

and worse; the deck-pumps rattle 111 quick time; the 
steam-pump works with all its power, as usual, and we have 
to help with a hand pump. All this has some effect, We 
find pumping quite a relaxation, and take turns at the work 
incessantly. 

The nearest land now is Cockbuin Island, from which, on 
the 6th of February, we are but rq minutes (r6 miles) 

distant. A few of us are persuaded that they are looking 
out for the vessel at the wintering station, and that they 
must have observed us. 

February 12th —We have now examined the stern of the 
vessel and have learned the lull extent of our misfortunes. 
One-third of the vessel’s keel has disappeared, taking with it 
here and there a plank. A hole has been made that no 
human skill here can close The wishes of even the most 



TOWARDS DESTRUCTION 


53 1 

sanguine amongst us are now confined to “If only we can 
beach her somewhere ! ” 

In the evening the ice begins to grow uneasier than ever. 
The open water to the N.W and W. grows m extent; we 
feel that the decisive moment is approaching. At 2 o’clock 
at night we had drifted into a large lead and cast loose The 
moment when the sails were hoisted appeared to me quite 
a solemn one. The Antarctic floated freely once more ! It 



Photo by] 


A last farewell 


[0. A, LarSen 


seemed as if she had become endowed with life; as if she 
felt what was at stake ; as if she meant to use her utmost 
powers to reach the saving land We thought we had never 
seen her cleave the waves so swiftly. We come in the midst 
of a group of stranded icebergs; an eddying current sweeps 
along just here, and all our efforts are in vain ; she will not 
answer her helm. “ Stand by 1 ” The propeller begins to spin 
round. I go up on to the bridge. Larsen is there. One can 
see suspense painted m his features—do you know how it 

34* 




S3 2 


ANTARCTICA. 


feels for a skipper to lose his craft ? The ice begins to 
close in. The ship goes lull speed ahead ; we must try to 
come as near as we can to Paulet Island 

“ When we have to stop, do you think you can keep her ? ” 
I ask Larsen “ That depends; it’s impossible to say; 
I hardly think so,” is the answer I receive I hardly think it 
possible myself 

Now we are at the end of the open water. The water is 
already beginning to rise ; the men run here and there, and 
peep down through the main hatchway. “ Now it’s rising ! 
Pump hard, boys ! ” We work with all our might, now and 
then casting a look down into the hold—No ! the water is 
still rising! Six pumps are going; everyone is doing his 
utmost, floods of watei are rushing out through hose and 
pipes ; the winch works at a tremendous speed and deafens 
us with its noise ; all arms are at work—No 1 it’s all in vain ! 
Slowly but surely rises the water. The keelson disappears 
for ever. “ All stand by! She’s going to sink! ” 

The word is said—“ She’s going to sink 1 ” There is no time 
for despondent thoughts. Quick to woilc, for there is much 
to do ! The provisions are handed up to the deck, and from 
thence down to a large piece of ice to which the ship has been 
moored with stout cables Pleaps of sacks and barrels, tins 
and boxes, soon lie in a confused heap on the ice. Mattresses, 
planks and spars, tools, sails, etc., all lie together. The ship 
cats are carried down in a state of terror. All the disorder 
of the last month has disagreed sadly with the poor creatures ; 
they are quite frightened out of their wits. We are waiting 
for the rats to make their appearance, but not one can be 
seen, although there must be hundreds of them 

By eight o’clock everything is ready. All of us are gathered 
m the gun-room—for the last time ! Proudly has she lived, 
proudly shall she die A health to the Antarctic, and thanks 
for what has been ! We go up on deck again, one by one 
A last look back at the low room where so many plans have 
been discussed, so many scientific questions debated, so 
many amusing stories related, so much happy laughter heard. 



TOWARDS DESTRUCTION. 


533 

Good-bye to it for ever ! I dare not even look back at the 
cupboard where all my plants lie. 

I have one bundle of plants under my arm. It is, even if 
I must say it myself, a little work of art in its way, with 
each specimen laid in an envelope, and these arranged m a 
packet so that they take the least possible room. Conse¬ 
quently, the herbarium which I have brought home with me 
is not such a small one as might be supposed. The envelopes 



Photo 5y] _ [C. A. LAB9EN. 

The end approaching 


are many hundreds m number, and if they could speak, they 
would most certainly have an interesting story to tell. In 
order to keep the packet dry I have adopted the following 
plan A large piece of oil-cloth covered the gun-room table. 
Some time after the ship was nipped I said to Larsen, “ I 
fancy that I may as well take this oil-cloth and wrap it 
round my plants, for you needn’t try to make me believe 
that this boat will hold out any longer.” “ No, no ! ” said 
Larsen, “ I intend going home now. Do you think I’ve 
time to stay down here during the winter ? ” 




534 


ANTARCTICA. 


But on the morning we were lo leave the vessel, I said to 
the captain, “ Well, I think I can take the cover ! ” And 
this time—unfortunately—my wish met with no opposition. 

The water is now up between decks and perhaps she will 
sink rapidly, so that it becomes advisable to go down on to the 
ice. The Swedish flag is hoisted at the gaff, and pennants 
flutter at the mam and mizzen-tops. 

And so we leave her. The cry is heard, “ Cut the ropes ! ” 



Photo by\ [U A LAJlMON 

The end 1 


—a lew blows of an axe, and she softly glides a little distance 
out. In order to get her a little farther off, we all catch 
hold of a rope and haul her past that part of the ice where 
our effects lie. We drag her to her grave, in the literal sense 
of the term. We have heard that when the water rushes 
into a vessel, such a whirlpool arises as makes it exceedingly 
dangerous for boats that happen to be in the neighbourhood 
of the ship, and we thought that the piece of ice we were on 
might possibly split. 

We stand in a long row on the edge of the ice and cannot 





The loss of the Ant a) Uu 

Soon, nothing but the tops of the masts aie visible above the surface 




ANTARCTICA. 


53<5 

take our eyes off her. She has neared us again, so that she 
is not thirty yards away. The engines are still moving; 
the fires are out, it is true, but there is a little steam left. 
The pumps are still going, but the sound grows fainter and 
fainter—she is breathing her last. She sinks slowly deeper 
and deeper ; for a moment we think she is going to the bottom 
bows first, but she soon recovers her balance. Now the name 
disappears from sight. Now the water is up to the rail, and, 
with a rattle, the sea and bits of ice rush in over her deck. 

That sound I can never forget, however long I may live.- 

Now the blue and yellow colours are drawn down into the 
deep. The mizzen-mast strikes against the edge of our 
floe and is snapped off; the main-mast strikes and breaks , 
the crow’s nest lattles against the ice-edge, and the streamei, 
with the name Antarctic , disappears in the waves. The 

bowsprit-the last mast-top-- 

She is gone ! 



537 


CHAPTER XIX. 

OVER THE DRIFTING ICE. 

The men banish sorrow—We drag the boats across the ice—We drift near to Paulet 
Island—and away again—We determine to row to the land—Once more on 
solid earth 1 

Our home is no more. What have we not lost! The scien¬ 
tific collections—how shall we ever be able to replace them ? 
The fruits of so much industry; our ]oy, our pride—all are 
lost It is true, that it was only the results of the work of the 
last few months that have vanished, but they were the most 
important of all, for they were our Antarctic collections. I 
grieved for them all, I grieve for them now, and shall do so 
until I have replaced those lost specimens by new ones. 

We are alone, hundreds of miles from any inhabited country; 
alone on a drifting floe ; ignorant whether the morrow will 
find us alive, or whether we shall all lie at the bottom of the 
sea. It must be acknowledged that our situation is a most 
serious one, and can scarcely be even imagined by one who 
has never experienced any similar danger. 

The most we can hope for is to leach land. There is only 
one place which lies within reasonable distance, and that is 
Paulet Island—a land of naught else but precipices or glacier 
terminations—an island where there is but little probability 
that we can manage to exist. 

And should we reach the land—what then ? We have before 
us the prospect of a winter in these latitudes, and we, almost 
entirely destitute of ways and means to brave such a season, 



53 « 


ANTARCTICA 


weighed down by the heavy remembrance of the past, and 
with but a desperate hope of relief to encourage us ! 

But can I believe my ears ! From inside the tent, which 
has been roughly put together by means of a few spars and 
two topsails, and another sail for the floor, I hear the sound 
of merry voices , the one burst of laughter succeeds the other, 
and the whole is accompanied by the tones oi a concertina. 

The suspense is over. Everybody knows what we have to 
expect. We know that we no longer have a ship , that we 
shall not see Sweden this year It seems a relief to know that 
the terrifying uncertainty which disturbed our sleep at night 
and our work by day has at length been elianged into certainty, 
a fearful certainty, it is true—but the first night on the ice is 
spent in a slumbei calmer and deeper than any wc have had 
during the past month 

We feel certain of destruction or—of safety. But no ! We 
feel sure of reaching land ; of building a house there ; of over¬ 
coming all difficulties. Our goal is Paulet Island, whose pre¬ 
cipitous summit is cleaily defined against the whiteness of the 
Dundee glacier. And rescue ? At this very moment we 
assure each other that a Swedish Expedition will come to 
search for us No one has a doubt in the matter. Ought we 
not, then, hold together ? Courage, boys ! The dawn will 
come 1 It’s not all over yet ! 

* * 4 = * * * * 

When the catastrophe occurred we weie about twenty-live 
English miles distant from Paulet Island. Land can be seen 
around the hoiizon, but otherwise there is nothing but ice 
wheievcr we turn our gaze. Still, the reader must not imagine 
that it is ice which is smooth as a floor. That would be all 
too convenient It is pressure-ice everywhere, and of a 
dreadful kind, too. 

February 13 tli .—“ Our piece of icc is pretty large and looks 
durable enough lor a mass of pressure-ice ; it has evidently 
drifted considerably during the night, lor we are nearer to 
Paulet Island. 

“ We have put beech-wood runners under the pram in order 



OVER THE DRIFTING ICE 


5 39 

to be able to use it as a sledge It is quite impossible to 
draw anything m the whale-boats. I have nevei seen such 
clumsy monsters of boats. But they have one good quality 
—an immense sustaining power ” 

February 14th —“ The weather has become more endurable, 
and we began our march to-day. The pram is filled with all 
manner of goods and then ten men, or so, take hold of the 
line and off we start. Whei e the ice is level it goes excellently, 
but one 1 two ! three ! and we are m front of a pressure 



Photo by] 


[0. V..LAESL2? 

Oiu first camping-place on the ice. 


hummock. Out come the axes ; the worst parts are hewn 
smooth, we give a pull altogether, and the big sledge bumps 
down the slope at express speed We go forwards and back¬ 
wards, without stopping, the whole day long. Once or twice 
we get a cup of coffee and some bread and meat. The work 
goes on with laugh and joke, and at eve we camp again. The 
drift still takes ns onwards to Paulet Island, from which we 
calculate that we are not more than eleven or twelve miles 
distant,” 

February 15 th.— u We are living just at present on a 
veritable dancing-floor! Here, if anywhere, the name of 




540 


ANTARCTICA. 


White Sea would be a suitable one. To-day we have only 
managed to cross our floe and that was work enough, for it is 
a large one. Our course must be N W., but it really seems as 
though the ice wished to sail past the island, round about 
which there is a row of ice mountains which will probably 
occasion us some difficulty. But if only we succeed m 
coming past them we shall feel as if we had jumped over 
a fence and left the bull on the other side, for they all lie 
aground,” 

February lyth .—“ A little lead, or lane of open water, has 
formed quite close to our floe, we rowed across with all our 
things and encamped near some icebergs. We cannot be 
more than seven miles from the land. 

“The moving was a cold and wet business for we had no 
fewer than n boatloads of goods to ferry across.” 

February 19 th .—“ During my watch (12 midnight—1 a.m.) 
there was a south wind blowing that made my nose tingle. 
We had the same weather the whole of the day afterwards. 
The tent and some other things have been moved nearer to 
Paulet Island, but it’s an awful hauling and tugging.” 

February 22nd .—“ ‘ Turn out! All men turn out! ’—What’s 
the matter ? Oh, the ice has begun to move, and a lead has 
been formed close up to our piece of ice. We 1 look alive,’ 
and the boats are soon out. We ferry several boat-loads 
over, when the lead unexpectedly begins to narrow. A boat 
is about to cross with a load ; we unload it, and pull it up in a 
trice and just m the nick of time, for the next instant the sides 
of the lead come together with a crash and press against each 
other so that large walls are cast up. A moment later the ice 
seems to be calm again ; but I have never seen such a collec¬ 
tion of hummocks. The worst of them are cleared away with 
axes and picks, and off we go again. 

“ We are turning back to fetch a new load, when a fissure, 
that was quite a small one a little while ago, widens out, and 
in a couple of minutes the whole mass of ice that had lam so 
closely packed is resolved into a number of hummocks and drift¬ 
ing pieces of ice. The fragments go spinning here and there, 



OVER THE DRIFTING ICE. 


541 


sometimes colliding and falling to pieces We see a number 
of our people on one piece , others of them are standing with 
some goods on the old piece of ice and we sit here m the pram 
and sail about, while on a couple of hummocks can be seen 
men who were lately busied in carrying over sacks of bread, 
planks, or a bag of clothes, but who are now floating away m 
different directions. At last the ice grows a little calmer, 
and by degrees we come together and refresh ourselves wi^h 
a cup of coffee, but a number of our things—and important 
ones too—have floated away.” 

February 23 rd —“ It is calm to-day and the weather far 
from hopeless, but—there is such a thick mist that we can 
scarcely sec more than a few yards ahead. Our piece of ice 
is still drifting along at a good rate. At any minute an iceberg 
can make its appearance, give our little floe a knock and so 
—good-bye to us 1 During the night one did sail past, and 
it took a corner off our piece of ice. 

“We now learn what things were lost yesterday when the 
ice broke loose The mattresses are gone, all our planks 
but two ; our three pairs of skis , a canoe packed full of 
woollen clothing and almost the whole of our supply of salt 

“ The mist continued all day and the next night. It was 
not before the following forenoon that it decreased somewhat, 
so that we could see we had coine much nearer to Paulet 
Island. We look about us for our lost goods in vain, but the 
drift towards the land inspires us with fresh courage. For¬ 
tunately, our piece of ice seems to be moving direct towards 
the island; some of us are sanguine enough to hope that we 
shall even be able to walk ashore. We had the land to the 
west-north-west. By evening we are so near that a sailor 
says he can see the stones on the beach, but this merely bears 
witness to more than ordinary powers of vision.” 

February 25 th .—“A nice sight it was m the morning! 
Paulet Island lies north-by-east, far down on the horizon. 
The currents have carried us from the land towards the south- 
south-west, and the whole of the forenoon saw us drifting 
farther and farther away. Then there came a change, and 



542 ANTARCTICA 

slowly and carefully, so to say, we began to approach Dundee 
Island During the couise of the day a large lead opened 
nearer the land, and we were not long in taking advantage of 
it. All the boats were at once loaded, and off we rowed to 
an immense piece of ice that wc had destined for our night 
quarters Our whole equipment had now grown so small 
that it did not take more than two journeys of the boats to 
get it acio&s ” 

February 28 th — 11 After rowing a good way yesterday there 
came on a mist during the night, and as in spite of all our 
endeavours we could uoL manage to form any idea of the ice- 
conditions, it was not easy to recommence transportation 
before the weather cleaied up a little At 7.30 a.m. things 
grew lively, for the mist had disappeared, and there we had 
Paulet and Dundee Islands, not quite so near as they had 
been a couple of days ago, but sLill withm reach. The ,ice 
had opened very well, and we looked confidently towards 
the end ol the day. Should we not come direct to the 
shore, a thing we scarcely dared hope for, there would, at 
least, be no great distance left 

“We all feel that now is the tug of war 1 Wc do not even 
wait to drink a cup of coffee. No one will pause ; we load 
and load, until at last the boats lie so deep that the least 
unwary movement would fill them with water Should we 
ship any water while we aie out 111 the lead we are lost, for it 
will be impossible for one boat to help another All that 
cannot be taken on this journey is piled into a great heap, with 
a Swedish flag on a bamboo-rod beside if, to serve as a mark. 

“ We are ready to start. We glide slowly out into the lead ; 
it is 8.40 a.m. At a distance it looks as though we should not 
be able to go any great way’. We row and row ; there is 
a strong current against us, but forward we must go ; forward. 
The current is useful, too, for it carries the ice off the land ; 
lane after lane opens beiore us; the dark cliffs of Paulet 
Island come nearer and neaier ‘ Now I can see a bird standing 
on a heap of stones,’ says one. And we can mark a faint 
smell of guano. 



OYER THE DRIFTING ICE 


543 


“ We glide slowly m upon the open shore-water , it is still, 
and the island pictures all its fantastic battlements and towers 
in the cold waters The shore appears perpendiculai, but we 
know from our foimer visit that there is an excellent landing- 
place on the other side We turn a corner, and theie we have 
the well-known hills. The penguins shriek confusedly, it 
looks as though they did not approve of the invaders who 
seem as if they actually mean to make their home here 

“ Who can describe the feelings with which we heard the 
boats touch the shore ? What ]oy, what happiness there 
was in once more treading firm earth, after sixteen days’ 
incessant strife with the forces of Nature 1 Does not this 
success bear encouragement enough with it to make us fall to 
work with renewed vigour, and to make us determined, in 
spite of every difficulty, to persevere to the very end ? ” 



544 


CHAPTER XX. 

HOUSE AND HOME, FOOD AND CLOTHES. 

Oui last “ civilised M meal—Paulct Tslaml—We deleumne to build a house—Our 
food supplies—Om clothes—Wintei makes its appeaiance. 

We were rathei tired when we landed, for we had rowed unin¬ 
terruptedly for 6^ hours, and without having eaten or drunk 
anything since the preceding evening And we got no rest 
yet awhile, tor we were obliged to move all our things farther 
up on to the land, as it was now low water. After an hour 
or two the cooks had managed to prepare a little dinner for 
us. It was a memorable meal, not because of the dishes— 
for we had only tinned meat, coffee, butter and ship’s 
biscuits—but because it was the last time that we ate 
other meat than that procured by our “hunting parties” , 
it was the last time we had sugar with our coffee, and the 
last time we had as much butter and biscuits as we 
wished. It was with a ceitain solemnity that the sugar was 
dropped into the cup—I believe I took twice as many 
pieces as usual, although I prefer the smaller quantity. 

The shore on to which we had drawn up our boats was not 
very broad, it was succeeded by a slope whither we transported 
our things. This slope was free from penguins, and lying 
between rather steep lulls, offered more protection from the 
wind than did the other habitable part of our island. After 
helping to erect the tent and to cover the floor with flat stones, 
T had time to make a little exploring expedition, of which 
the following report may be interesting. 



HOUSE AND HOME, FOOD AND CLOTHES 545 

Paulet Island lies m about 63° 35' S. lat (correspon ding 
pretty nearly to the position of the Faroe Islands m the 
noithern hemisphere) and long. 55 0 50' W. It is almost 
circular in form, being about three miles in circumference. 
The island consists entirely of recent volcanic rocks, basalt, 
and such like, and has the appearance of a very typical crater- 
island, the middle of which is occupied by a little circular lake, 
towards which the sides of the hill fall very steeply. The 
highest point of the island lies 385 metres (1,250 feet) above 
the sea. The hill slopes are very steep, and it is only in a 
few places that the top can be reached. 

The place was rather silent and deseitcd when we arrived, 
for, unfortunately, the greater number of the penguins had 
already left the island. Those who were left were old buds 
who were moulting ; they sat there peaceably and quietly 
enough, although they were evidently irritated by our arrival 
Nearly all of them belonged to the black and white Adelie 
penguins (Pygoscehs Addice). 

We look around 111 vain for seals There ought to be some, 
and if they do not soon put in an appearance—! Raw pen- 
gum-meat is not very enticing. 

Fancy being able to go to sleep, confident of waking in the 
same latitude and longitude where one dropped off. Our 
life seems quite full of enjoyment, though the stones are not 
soft to lie on. 

March 1st .—Now begins our Esquimaux life. We mark it 
at dinner-time, the meal consisting of pengum-soup, which is 
very good, being made from freshly-killed birds. Then we 
go out to look for seal, and find no less than eight, ah of 
which are killed, the skins and the best part of the meat 
being brought home to the tent amidst re]oicmg. To-day is 
Sunday, and, therefore, we have done no other work than the 
killing of these seals, but there is much to be thought of. It 
is evident that we shall not be able to make shift with our 
weak tent. It has stood one storm, it is true, but who can 
say how it will fare on the next occasion ? And besides ; it 
cannot, of course, keep out the cold in the least, and it would 

35 



546 ANTARCTICA. 

bo impossible for us to dwell a whole winter as wc are now 
doing 

So we must build a house The first thing is to choose a 
site The little plain near the shore, to the east of the tent, is 
level and enticing enough, but the winds blow more un¬ 
hindered there, and it would be troublesome to take our build¬ 
ing materials to the place The slope on which we dwell is 
not quite level anywhere, but it is somewhat protected from 
the wind, and one of the hills close by is covered with the finest 
flat basalt-stones ol an even thickness, which look as if they 
would make excellent building material Wc determine to 
erect the hut at the foot of this little lull, and begin by 
taking some large, lriegukuiy rounded blocks of basalt and 
rolling them down to the spot where the foundations are to 
he laid Some of the men stand there ready to receive them, 
and place them m their proper positions, m double rows, with 
small stones, and old and now inodorous guano to fill the 
spaces between. Almost before we are aware of the fact the 
foundations are ready, and we slop to cast a look of hopeful 
pride at our masterpiece. The style is quite new and mighf 
be called Paulet Island architecture. It is probably unrepre¬ 
sented elsewhere—and I hope that none of my readers will 
ever find themselves forced to adopt it. 

The best stones near the hut are soon taken, and we are 
obliged to go some dislance off and climb the hill in order to 
look for suitable material. It is hard work carrying slabs of 
stone on one’s back, hour after hour Building is much 
pleasanter—putting the blocks together as closely as possible 
and slipping m small pieces here and there, and filling m with 
earth. Naturally we built double walls everywhere, and we do 
not make rapid progress with the work, as we have to provide 
shelter for twenty men, and the walls must be built close, m 
order to exclude storm and snow. One grows both tired and 
thirsty—has to stop to take breath every now and then— 
must take a drink of water from the bucket. The water 
comes from the crater-lake It is a little too greenish-yellow 
m colour, and has an unpleasant taste—for thousands of pen- 




The winter dwelling on I^aulet Island -when the expedition left 





• ANTARCTICA 


54S 

guins have dwelt upon the steep slopes—but we do not attach 
importance to trifles, and when used for the soup the water 
does not taste so bad. 

The house grew day by day. The door-way leading out 
into the future kitchen was made ready after we had found a 
couple of slabs large enough to go quite across the top. On the 
opposite side we left place for two small windows. We had 
been hoping to escape snow until we had the roof ready, but 
we were not so fortunate, and a great deal of snow fastened m 
all the corners of our new building 

Our health is not quite as it should be. Our stomachs rebel 
against the constant meat diet. But we have nothing else, 
for no one can still his hunger with ship’s biscuits and the 
coffee-cup. Most of us soon grow accustomed to the new 
diet, however, and scarcely anyone was as bad as I was for a 
period of several weeks. 

The 6th and the 7th were very unpleasant days, but during 
the afternoon of the latter day we finished most of the work 
necessary inside of the house, and commenced the erection of 
the framework of the roof, consisting of two narrow tables 
m the middle, and, on each side of these, two roof-couples of 
tent-poles. The roof-tree consisted of two boat-hooks fas¬ 
tened together. The sails were laid over the ridge and built 
into the wall; the windows were stuffed up , a tarpaulin was 
hung before the door, and we moved m during the course of 
the evening. There was a considerable quantity of snow on 
the floor and m all the cracks of the walls, but now there was 
no help for it 

It already begins to be winter. The snow whirls about m 
shifting gusts, and snowdrifts accumulate inside the hut, 
for the entrance cannot be kept tightly closed, as there are 
twenty of us, and we must be able to go in and out freely. 
The thermometer outs’de the house shows about fourteen or 
eighteen degrees of Irost the whole of the twenty-four hours. 
It is rather cold indoors, but we hope to improve matters .as 
soon as we get the kitchen built outside the entrance, and 
have the roof-cloth covered with seal skins. We calculate 




[E BKEJlOP 


An Adelie penguin moulting 




550 ANTARCTICA. 

that we need about thirty of these skins ; some He ready on 
the hill, but are frozen stiff. As soon as they thaw we intend 
sewing them fast to tlie canvas. And, in addition, when 
the windows and the doors are m their places, I imagine we 
need not freeze to death 

As an addition to our fare we have now commenced to eat 
blubber, boiled in the soup We cannot afford to take much 
but a little is always of some use. For my own part I believe 
we can thank the blubber for the good health we enjoyed 
during the time we wintered here, for I fancy the fat serves m 
some degree to make up for the vegetable food-stuffs of which 
we had such a small supply. At the beginning we swallowed 
the bits of blubber without daring to taste them, but at last 
one actually enjoyed masticating the fat, especially when it 
was quite fresh. 

The bad weather continued, but it did not prevent us from 
building our kitchen, for the cook had really a miserable 
existence, and the snow came whirling in upon those of us 
who lay nearest the door, so that the satisfaction was general, 
therefore, when after a couple of days we had the kitchen 
ready. The building had Only three single walls of equal 
height, covered with a roof made of a tarpaulin, canvas and 
some seal skms. 

The total length of the house was about 34 feet, of which 
24 were taken up by the dwelling-room. Its breadth was 22 
feet or so, that of the kitchen being 12 feet, or a little more. 
The front and back walls were 3 } feet and 4 feet high respec¬ 
tively, as the floor sloped towards the shore ; the side walls 
were 8 feet high, Tall as I am, I could walk erect along the 
middle line of the house, and no greater height than this was 
lequired, I fancy. The doors were low, and one was obliged 
to stoop on entering. The area of the floor in the living 
100m was 20 feet by 18, and was almost entirely taken up 
by the sleeping-bags. Low stone-beds, seven feet broad, 
were built along the two sides of the room, and here the 
bags lay in two rows, ten in each. Between the beds 
was a passage, four feet wide, which constituted the only 




The penguin colony at Penguin Island (January, 1902) 




5 S 2 


ANTARCTICA. 


common space m the room. We had not many domestic 
utensils In the window recesses stood a couple of Primus 
petroleum-stoves , a pair of scales for bread hung on the wall 
—it had been constructed by Larsen out of the sides of a cocoa- 
tin ; under them stood a sack, or a barrel, containing bread. 
Each one had his plate, knife, fork, spoon and cup. In the 
kitchen we kept all the provisions, with the exception of five 
barrels of ship’s biscuits, which lay snowed-up lower down the 
hill, and the food supplies obtained on the island itself, these 
being buried m the snow below the hut. 

The list of provisions brought to Paulet Island included, 
amongst other things, 600 kilogrammes* ship’s biscuits ; 25 
kg. sugar , 30 kg. coffee; 14 kg. tea , 70 kg. pease ; 165 
tins of preserved meat and fish (the greater part of the tinned 
meat was left behind us on the island when we were rescued) , 
16 tins condensed milk ; 100 kg. margarine (Zenith’s and 
Pellerin’s ); 600 portions preserved vegetables ; 240 litres!' 
petroleum (140 litres of which still remained at the end of our 
stay here); and 300 candles and a supply of matches. 

The supply may seem considerable to anyone who does 
not reflect how many there were of us. But it formed a small 
fraction of all that wc consumed ; in fact, we should have soon 
have been starved to death had we not been able to supple¬ 
ment these stores very considerably. While the house was 
building we killed a seal now and then, but seal-meat was 
unpopular at the time, the majority of the men thinking that 
the penguin-soup tasted much better. We had determined, 
from the very beginning, to collect a supply of penguins for 
the winter, and we calculated that we should require at least 
3,000 or 4,000 of the birds. 

The pengum-colony was growing smaller and smaller every 
day ; an increasing number of the birds had already acquired 
their new feathers, after which they made no delay in taking 
their departure, but several thousands of the penguins were 
still left on the nth of March, when we at last had an 


* 1 kilogramme — 2 } lbs. avd. t I litre = if pints 




Photo by] 


C SKOTTSBERG. 

The winter chess as used on Paulet Island. 


[S. Duse 




554 ANTARCTICA. 

opportunity of beginning the work of massacre. But this 
was no easy task. It went well enough for the first few days, 
but it did not take long before the birds saw what our inten¬ 
tions were, and fled long ere we could come within reach. 
Still, it was very strange that they should have become shy so 
suddenly. We could not afford to throw away powder on 
them, but did the work with sticks. As I have said, it 
became at last almost impossible to catch any birds Where 
the ground was free from snow we contrived to obtain some 
spoils of the chase, but where the snow lay we sank into it, 
while the penguins simply ran away from us, throwing them¬ 
selves on their bellies and kicking themselves forward at a 
most astonishing rate. When the last of the birds had left 
the island we had killed about 1,100 of them. 

A few words may be said about our clothes. Each of us 
had a couple of changes of underwear Our clothes were, as 
a rule, of homespun ; some of us had an extra coat or pair of 
trousers, although these were not made for winter use, Still, 
I think no one suffered from the cold on account of a scarcity 
of wearing-apparel. 

We were worse off for shoes, our ordinary shoes and boots 
being anything but sufficiently warm, and complaints about 
cold feet were made every day, while nothing was said of any 
other part of the body suffering from the severity of the 
climate. 

Winter had now made its appeal ance ; some entries from 
my diary will show that it at once assumed despotic power. 

March 14th .—“ Bad weather, with a snow-storm from the 
west-south-west. All outdoor work interrupted.” March 
15 th .—“ Fresh south wind with snow-storm, and twenty-two 
degrees of frost the whole day. But K. Andersson and I 
took a walk, for one grows stupid lying m the bags all day.” 
March x&th .—“ Weather bad, and a snow-storm from the 
south-west in the evening, but I had my forenoon walk.” 
March 19 th —“ It began to blow hard at n last night, with 
increasing violence. The roof is not ready yet, and the gusts 
of wind attacked the frail structure with terrible power, 



HOUSE AND HOME, FOOD AND CLOTHES 555 

causing the sails to thresh against the roof-poles. Strangely 
enough, the covering held. But when we looked out m the 
morning the kitchen roof had disappeared. It had fluttered 
away lor a couple of hundred yards, and had nearly continued 
its journey far away over the ice. The whole island has quite 
another look after the storm: immense masses of snow have 
fallen, in which we are obliged to wade up to the knees.” 



S56 


CHAPTER XXI. 

WINTER-LIFE ON PAULET ISLAND. 

JVintci —Looking foiward to E.istei eve—How we spend a fine winlei s da>—Out- 
clooi occupations ; dinnei; evening, going to bed—Oni diearns 

The days creep along at a snail’s pace, the weather keeping 
us, as a rule, indoors. Scarcely a bird can be heaid about 
the precipices ; the little Chioms (Wattled Sheathbill) alone, 
comes hopping around our cottage, but goodness knows that 
it is not much he has thrown to him by the Paulet Island 
savages. 

It is winter all around us. The ice lies fast between here 
and Dundee Island, so that the snow can now whirl direct to 
our liut from the glaciers of the latter place. But the cold 
has given us one advantage : it has extended the area avail¬ 
able for walks, and we are no longer confined to a narrow 
strip of coast. Our new domain of ice is not so monotonous 
as the reader might believe. There we have chains of lulls 
with intervening valleys, ndges and peaks, cliffs and preci¬ 
pices. There aie fissures, and holes where the seal blows— 
his movements watched every day by vigilant eyes. 

Unfortunately we were not aware of the wind conditions 
here, otherwise we should have placed the door in another 
part of the building. As it is, the entrance is continually 
blocked with snow, and every day we have endless trouble m 
making our way in and out. 

The time goes a little slowly. But there is one thing in 
the world which is able, in a way, to make the days pass 
quickly, and that is, the looking forward to something agree- 



WINTER-LIFE ON PAULET ISLAND. 


557 


able. And we go here longing, longing for Easter, and our 
longing grows the greater the nearer we approach the great 
event—rice porridge ! What a trifle, is it not ? But what 
do you think pengum-soup is, when compared with the mere 
thought of nce-porridge ? 

Easter Eve, the great day, is come. There is great ]oy 
amongst us, for we have taken a seal The work of flaying 
it is soon completed, and we creep into our bags and wait 
devoutly for the long-expected meal. The conversation 
turns wholly upon nce-porridge. 

Amid laughter and jest each one takes out his table service ; 
we even wipe our plates clean. I use a coal-black handker¬ 
chief, which slimes with fat and soot. The door opens ; the 
conversation dies away; there is a touch of reverence in the 
silence. 

It is no every-day dish we are promised Quite a number 
of Chionts have been sacrificed, and we have indulged m the 
luxury of fiying them m margarine There is absolutely no 
end to the praises lavished on this prodigally prepared dish. 
But suddenly there comes a new silence over us , the kitchen 
door is thrown open for the second time and the cook enters 
heavily, toiling along with the big, heavy porridge-pot A 
most delicious aroma spreads about in the hut, the steam 
fills the low room, and the plates are handed round. We 
sit and long for our turn to come. 

Never m our lives have we eaten anything so good. But 
as it would be prodigality to take the whole at one meal, I put 
my plate on the shelf behind me, leaving a little bit for the 
morrow. 

* * * * * * * 

How we spent our every-day life during the following 
winter months can be realised by taking the description of 
one day—any one day. We may assume that the weather 
is calm, cold and clear, a condition of things which, unfor¬ 
tunately, did not often exist. 

It is about 7.30 a.m. My watch has been out of order for 
a long time past, and so I poke my friend, K. A. Andersson 



ANTARCTICA. 


558 

—who lies on my left—in the side, and ask him what the time 
is. The ceiling is glitteringly white, lor it is clothed with a 
vciy lespectable layer of rime. This rime has dropped on to 
our bags during the night, so that they, too, lie white and 
beautiful in the day-dawn The walls are also covered with 
frost, and all the cracks are filled with ice, which grows thicker 
after each touch of mild weather. Of course we have to keep 
our bags well closed over the head, in order to retain the 
warmth; one breathes through the blanket and the canvas, 
and, on awakening, theie lies a vault of ice above the face. 

At length, il is eight o’clock, and if the weather permit, 
Anclersson or I go out to note the height of the thermometer. 
This can be a pleasure, but—alter a snow-storm 1 Then the 
passage through the snow-drift to the door is filled with hard- 
packed snow and on looking outside one sees a smooth, white 
wall If there happens to be a shovel inside, we make a hole 
and creep out, but sometimes there is nothing else one can do 
but go into the snow-drift head first, and wriggle out into the 
open. On coming in again, one hears hollow-sounding, ques¬ 
tioning voices from Hie depths of the bags, for everyone is 
curious to know how the thermometer stands. 

Oi, I have gone to bed at half-past seven the evening before, 
and have slept almost twelve hours, and am awakened by a 
rattling noise. It is the “ waterman ” knocking the ice out 
of the pail before he goes to fetch fresh water from the crater- 
lake 

Out of the way for the cook ; here comes the coffee ! Cups 
are held out, and the boiling hot drink is soon swallowed 
and warms the whole of one’s frozen frame. We drink coffee 
and tea on alternate days, with cocoa on Sundays, This 
sounds fine, but one has either to keep a very careful count 
of the days, or else have a most delicate sense of taste, if one 
is to be able to distinguish between the various decoctions. 
The tea was undoubtedly the worst of them all. 

We can suppose that the weather is fine, and so order the 
day accordingly. We make preparations for going out, and 
begin to dress ourselves. The bools always occasion the 





563 ANTARCTICA 

greatest difficult}'', tor they are as hard as sheet-iron. The 
coat has, of course, become wet on some occasion or another, 
and may now be best compared to a mail-shirt. But, at length, 
off we go to our various employments. Some take their 
fishing-lines and go down to tire ice to stand and stamp by a 
hole for a couple of hours, cheered by faint visions ol a fislr- 
breakfast My boots, which are thin, being intended to be 
filled with shoe-hay, do not permit of my standing still so long 
when it is cold , so I go about, pick up the fish, when any are 
caught, and take them home to be cleaned. 

It may be that I go on the look-out lor a seal We go tar 
over the ice, but, unfortunately, it is seldom that our efforts 
are crowned with success. 

But in the end it grows wear.some, this going out and 
clambering about The sleeping-bag is no very enticing 
bed, but we have no other place ol refuge. So we go indoors 
and take off our out-door clothes, and each one withdraws 
to his lair. Then begins a new period of waiting. A couple 
of hours elapse ere the food comes, consisting, it is true, of 
penguin-soup alone, but it gives occasion for a salutary inter¬ 
ruption. It is no very agreeable odour that steams from the 
kettle when it is brought in, and when the fare comes on to 
the plates it does not look pleasanter than it smells, for it con¬ 
sists of a brownish-yellow, thin soup, with some thick penguin- 
bones lying in it, and pieces of seal-blubber floating about, 
But we finish it all. And when one has swallowed the two 
platefuls we get, there are many who cast a look of regret 
towards the empty kettle as it is earned out. 

Still, our dinners are not always such plain ones. Saturday 
is the best day m the week, for the man who does not eat his 
fi 1 then has only himself to blame. Dinner that day consists 
of an endless number of seal-steaks, and a plate of what is 
alleged to be fruit-syrup soup. I shudder when I think of 
the portions we received : seven or eight enormous, black 
steaks, swimming m fried tram-oil, and garnished with bits 
of blubber. There was not much taste to the soup, and great 
faith was necessary that water might be changed to syrup. 




36 


Pan let Island 






562 


ANTARCTICA 


But fortunately we were all of us believers, and we lavished 
unending praise on the decoction. 

It is not more than six o’clock How long the evenings 
are ! If only we had enough tobacco, lor now we think it 
much if we get a single whiff of a pipe ! Old Haslum, the 
second mate, will always be present m my recollections; I 
can still see him comfortably sending out clouds of smoke 
which smell bad enough to make one’s hair stand on end, for 
he used dried tea-leaves mixed with snuff. And Martin, who 
used to beg, in advance, for pipes that might eventually be 
broken, and who, when he received the treasure, would chew 
the bowl It is a thankless task, the endeavour to keep a 
sailor and pig-tail tobacco apart! 

And so we lie staring up at the roof where the rime-frost 
is gradually increasing, for it is growing colder and colder 
outside. Yet no one gives way to despondency—not at all; 
but each one does what he can to be cheerful and chatty, 
subjects of conversation never come to an end in Paulet 
Cottage, and Johansson never ceases trolling some tune. It 
is an advantage to be able to be in good humour at any 
time, even if deep down m our hearts we consider the 
situation desperate. A hang-gallows wit it is that flourishes 
in our midst. 

A moment’s reading livens one up considerably. But we 
have to be saving of that, too, although it is often hard to 
close the book. And so we lie and think a little while longer, 
and by-and-by it is time for bed. The process of undressing 
is not an arduous task ; that of arranging the bed is much 
more tedious The pillow is a mosaic composed of various 
articles of dress ; the canvas-bag shows a tendency to slip 
down ; the blankets are twisted. At last everything is in 
order; we creep inside, draw the blankets and canvas over 
our heads and wish for nothing else but to be able to sleep. 
We have first to take up a position which is not too incon¬ 
venient, a thing easier said than done ; the mattress con¬ 
sisting of stones—and knobbly and sharp ones into the bar¬ 
gain—covered by nothing but thin rags. Many a time when 



WINTER-LIFE ON PAULET ISLAND. 563 

I have lam me down have I thought of Hamlet’s words : 

“-to sleep. No more , and by a sleep to say we end the 

heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir 
to. . . .To sleep—perchance to dieam ! ” 

Many hundred di earns have been dreamed in our island, 
but I do not know if they helped to brighten our existence. 
They grouped themselves around two objects—food and 
rescue Why, we could dream through a whole dinner, 
from the soup to the dessert, and waken to be cruelly disap¬ 
pointed How many times did one not see the relief vessel 
in our visions—sometimes as a large ship, sometimes as 
nothing but a little sloop ? And we knew the peisons on 
board ; they spoke about our journey ; took us m their arms; 
patted us on the back. 

A train-oil lamp winks faintly thiough the smoky darkness 
Nothing can be heard but the breathing of the sleepers- 



564 


CHAPTER XXII. 
wennersgaard’s death, midwinter. 

The unpleasantness u[ an Antrucuc winlci—Wenncisgaaid’s illness and death —The 
n intei ineieascs in se\eiity—Approach of spiing—We determine to send a 
boat paity to Snow Hill Island. 

The Antaictic winter weather is not enticing. It is tiue that 
the cold in these latitudes is nothing nearly so great as it is 
within the northern hemisphere , but here, on the other hand, 
the wind becomes a much more important factor. And the 
changes m the weather come with extraordinary lapidity; 
in a couple of hours the temperature can rise from — 20° C. 
(—4° F.) to freezing-point, and two hours later we have once 
more 20° (36°) ol cold. But we rejoiced at the thunder of the 
wind which is doing good work out at sea, by driving the ice 
eastwards and away from us. We must have ice-free water 
m the spring when the relief-boat comes. 

In mild weather it was nice and warm indoors ; that is, the 
temperature was about +3 0 or 4 0 C. (37° to 39° F.), but the 
change was attended by several inconveniences, a dreadful 
smell arising from the kitchen-midden to which the passage 
between the rows of beds had been gradually transformed. 
And the rotting penguin-skins were still worse ! In order to 
make their beds softer, several of our party had placed 
penguin-skins under the sleepmg-bags, and if anyone 
happened to move the bundle, a terrible odour at once 
filled the room. When one came out of the fresh air into 
the hut it was at first almost impossible to breathe, so bad 
was the atmosphere. It seems very strange now, that we 




Wennersgaaid’s grave 

Jn the background, Dundee Island and ibe U?-zi s itaj 









566 


ANTARCTICA. 


en] oyed such good health as wc did the whole time we were 
on the island, although it can easily be understood that the 
digestion of several ol us was somewhat affected by our fare 

But we were not wholly preseived from sickness and death 
as wc had hoped we should be Wennersgaard had been a 
long time poorly, had violent attacks ot coughing as soon as 
lie went into the open air, and, as we thought at the time, 
showed other signs of consumption. 

But what were his bodily sufferings compared with the 
mental anguish he must have belt i To sit there amid dirt 
and wretchedness and hear his comrades speak ot rescue, ot 
home, of friends, and to know within himself that lie was 
doomed to rest here for ever, doomed never to sec Ins native 
land again. 

Sometimes it happened that he cheered up somewhat, 
recovered lus good spirits, and chatted with his companions. 
On the 17th ot May, for example, the national day of Norway, 
when merriment and a festive feeling pievailed in the hut, 
Wennersgaard, too, felt better for the while, but a few days 
later he was worse again. It was touching to see 
him writing a few words of farewell to his parents and lus 
brothers and sisters. He would sit night alter night, moaning 
softly and slowly, for he seldom had any rest, and if one hap¬ 
pened to look up during the course of the night, one met the 
terrified gaze of his large sorrowful eyes. We seldom heard 
him complain ; lie only moaned softly. 

On the morning of the 7th of June, he had said good-night 
to lus attendant, Martin, with a <c Now I shall sleep well.” 
And he fell asleep 111 a sitting posture, the only one possible 
for him. Then his neighbour suddenly felt how Wenners¬ 
gaard sank softly down upon his shoulder—a lew rattling 
breaths, and life bad fled. 

It was dim and silent 111 the hut; cold, clear and silent in 
the open air. Death, the one guest who could reach us, had 
laid his hand heavily upon the circle of comrades who had so 
long striven together for life. 

Slowly went the procession out through the low door. 



WENNERSGAARD’S DEATH. MIDWINTER 567 

Sewn up 111 his slecpmg-bag, the only coffin we could give him, 
lie was carried out to one of the boats. A couple of days 
later we buried his body m an immense snow-drift; not until 
the spring came could we build him a lasting resting-place 
Slowly we wander home and assemble in the hut, where every¬ 
thing speaks ol death and corruption ; we assemble there— 
nineteen of us.* 

* sH * * * * * 

Severer and severer seemed to grow the cold, paralysing all 
desire for work. We could he m the dusky light day after 
day while the storm raged outside ; hungry and cold were we, 
and the time passed with inexpressible slowness. “ Mid¬ 
winter Eve ” (June 23rd), came with its rice-porridge and 
with magnificent weather; the mere thought that the sun 
would now return to us called forth a festive feeling m our 
circle On Midsummer Day the thermometer was up to 
—0.5 0 C, (31.i° F.). It was impossible to stay indoors, for 
the state of the air there was terr.ble, but what a pleasure 
it was to be able to wander about hour after hour with un¬ 
frozen boots on, and without getting the feet cold. The cat 
ran about as if she was mad, and evidently enjoyed life to 
the utmost. Oh, you do not know what it is not to be 
obliged to suffer from constant cold ! 

Thus passed week after week amidst joy and sorrow, with 
long days and still longer nights , all our interest concentrated 
in the struggle for existence. The time went; July and 
August with their cold and depression disappeared; the sun 
rose higher and higher m the heavens Nature awakened 
more and more to life ; September and October came with 
spring storms, but came, too, with seals and penguins. 

Heaven alone knows how the time went, and how we 
managed to reach the day when the boat which was to carry 
Larsen, K. A. Andersson and their _ companions, to _the 


* A later and more detailed examination of the symptoms showed that Wennersgaard 
probably died of heart disease. 



ANTARCTICA. 


568 

wintering-station at Snow Hill, at last glided gently off from 
the ice Long were the looks we sent alter them Should 
they be lost amid the floes, who was to know that there was a 
little hut on Paulet Island, where a dozen human beings 
dwelt and wondered how help should ever reach them ? 



Weddell seal on the ice. 


CHAPTER XXIII* 

BOAT-EXPEDITION FROM PAULET ISLAND TO HOPE BAY AND 
SNOW HILL ISLAND. 

"Wo lerue Paulet Island—A storm compels us to talc shelter on the ice—We come to 
the rtepflt place at Mount Bransfield—A twenty two hours' row—We march over 
the ice to the wintering station—Oui reception—Good news for us ami for our 
comrades on Paulet Island—We leave Snow Hill 

WE had long determined on en¬ 
deavouring to put ourselves into 
communication with the other 
members ol the Expedition as 
soon as the ice-conditions per¬ 
mitted of our doing so, and with 
this puipose in view we had 
occasionally ascended the hills of 
our island, in order to ascertain 
the effect of the storms and the. 
ocean currents on the ice, and to keep a look-out for open 
water which would permit of a boat journey being made. 

* By Captain C. A. Larsen. 




570 


ANTARCTICA. 


Our patience was tried for a long time, however, for it was 
not befoie the end of October that we ventured upon the 
expedition. On the 30th of October we determined that, 
if the weather kept fine, we should start as early as 
possible the following morning In addition to Remlioldz, 
the third mate, I was to be accompanied by Mr. K. A. 
Andersson, Karlsen, the second engineer, Olsen, the boat¬ 
swain, and A. Andersson, the cook Our equipment consisted 
of one ship’s biscuit per man for twenty days, half a pound 
of butter per man for fifteen days, a few tins ol preserved 
meat, a cistern of petroleum, some necessary implements and 
some fishing-gear. 

When the inhabitants of Paulet Island assembled lor the 
last time on the evening before our departure, and were led, 
by speaking of the coming journey, to discuss the fate of 
J. G. Andersson, Duse and Grunden, and to wonder if we 
should succeed m reaching the wintering-station, we could 
not then suspect the remarkable events which, within the 
space of a couple ol weeks, were to so happily change the for¬ 
tunes of us all, and make every fear for the future needless. 

At 5 a.m. on October 31st wc were ready to start, but just 
as we put off, there came a slight easterly breeze with snow, 
which grew so dense that we could see only a few boat-lengths 
ahead. But we rowed 111 a south-easterly direction the 
best we could, and about 9 a.m. we rounded the point, 
afterwards keeping a more westerly course. The wind begin¬ 
ning to freshen, we set the sail and went at a smacking pace 
between the ice The air was fiesh and cold, and alter a 
couple ol hours we fell m with close ice, which compelled us 
to lower the sail and take to the oars again, until we caught 
sight ol Rosamel Island. We pulled in as close as we could 
to the land, m order to find shelter from the wind, which 
had freshened and was now accompanied by a high sea. We 
pulled the boat up on to a piece of ice, not a very large one 
it is true, but we had no other choice. It was now five in 
the afternoon, so we made a little coffee and warmed up 
some seal-meat, the meal putting fresh life into us. As there 



f 







572 


ANTARCTICA. 


was no place where we could rest, and the wind and the 
cold increasing, we were m for an adventure which appeared 
by no means promising, and matters grew very bad when the 
high sea began to bieak away our little piece of ice, bit by 
bit, from beneath our feet There was nothing else lor us to 
do in the midst of the cold and the darkness but to exercise 
all our strength, and pull the boat up on to an elevation on 
that part of the ice which was left. Here we were in com¬ 
parative safety, one man keeping watch while the others 
crept into tlieir sleeping-bags and endeavoured to rest. We 
suffered more from the cold than was comfortable, bul on 
such journeys as these one is obliged to take life as it comes. 

The storm and the high sea increased during the night, so 
that our little piece of ice stood right up in the air and we began 
to glide down towards the edge, where our destruction would 
have been certain, for m such a sea the boat would have been 
crushed between the ice like an egg-shell So we drew the boat 
still further m across the drift ice, until by midday on the 
ist ol November we discovered a suitable place to camp on. 
To obtain a little shelter we put the boat broadside to the 
wind, which had now fallen a little, and gone over to the 
south-west. During the course of the afternoon more ice 
set in from the south and laid alongside of the ice-edge, so 
that we felt more secure than we had done upon the former 
piece of ice. The weather had cleared, too, and in the 
evening when we got into our sleeping-bags it was pretty calm, 
although cold The boatswain had the hrst watch, and at 
io p.m, he awakened us with the news that the ice had begun 
to disperse Everybody was on his feet in an instant, ready 
for departure ; the boat was put out, and we found the ice 
so open that we could manage to row. There was a beautiful 
moonshine ; the wind was northerly but cold, and when we 
succeeded in getting out of the drift ice, which had carried us 
about five miles to the southwards, we were surprised to meet 
with newly-formed ice of from one-half to two inches in thick¬ 
ness, frozen, in parts, in double layers. It was a difficult 
task to make any progress here, but perseverance and patience 



BOAT-EXPEDITION FROM PAULET ISLAND, 573 

oveicome a great deal in this world., and such was the case 
now, although we did not succeed in reaching the depot at 
Mount Bransfield this day. 

Monday, the 2nd of November, came with a faint northeily 
breeze and a clear sky northwards. We strove and we rowed 
with all our might, but made slow work of it, sometimes 
advancing only foot by foot, for the ice was so hard that one 
was obliged to strike it several blows with the oar in order to 
get through. I lay forward and cleared a path for the bows 
of the boat—a trying work, for my nose began to bleed and I 
fainted Luckily the attack soon passed. On coming to 
the most northerly of the two islands (Inzar Island) on the 
west side of the sound, about five miles from the depot, we 
found that it was useless to continue with our efforts, for 
the new ice grew more and more difficult to penetrate, and 
the sound, as far as the eye could reach, was filled with 
pack-ice and newly-frozen ice. We determined, therefore, 
to stay at some suitable place on the island , a thing easier 
said than done, for ice was in rapid movement on account of 
the tide, and the water along the shore was very shallow, with 
large stones and rocks everywhere. After much trouble we 
at last found a landing-place a long way up 111 the channel 
between the islands The ice lay smooth, and formed an ex¬ 
cellent road up to the land, where the first thing we did was to 
pul on the coffee-kettle and strengthen ourselves with a cup 
of coffee and some ship’s biscuits The boat was drawn up 
and we went to rest, a very necessary proceeding after ten 
hours’ incessant work on an empty stomach, foi with hard 
work and no food the whole body feels worse than if one 
has been beaten to a mummy. 

The whole sound between the islands was full of rocks, 
and would probably have been difficult to pass with a vessel 
Farthest in, in the narrowest part, the ice still lay evenly 
spread across the sound. There was now almost a calm, 
with the most 'brilliant sunshine. 

Those left behind on Paulet Island must have most cer¬ 
tainly been anxious on our account when the heavy south- 



574 


ANTARCTICA 


easterly storms arose They feai-ed the worst no doubt, 
especially as their own situation depended, in a great 
measure, on the result ol this attempt to put ourselves into 
communication with the rest ol our comrades, so that the 
relief vessel we expected could be informed that a part of 
the Expedition was to be found on Paulet Island 

When I looked out at 2 a m. on November 3rd, there was a 
north-westerly wind blowing, with light clouds in the sky. 
After the men had been roused, and we had drunk our morning 
coflee, the boat was pushed off, and we once more proceeded 
on our way. We now had the current with us, so that the 
boat went at a brisk rate, the ice hindering us but little 
The appearance of the atmosphere had, however, begun to 
change; well-known small, white, sharp-edged clouds filling the 
sky I saw that we should soon have a strong breeze, but 
we rowed on in order to reach the depot during the course of 
the day. After coming over to the land to the west, wc were 
obliged to go on shore near a hill, inhabited by penguins, directly 
north of the channel, for the wind had so increased in strength 
that we were unable to proceed. The tide was at ebb, and 
the shore such that it was difficult for six men to carry up the 
heavy boat, although they eventually succeeded m doing so 
after a great exertion of strength. We were astonished to 
find that the penguins had eggs' at this early part of the 
summer, and that m great quantities. The eggs were ex¬ 
cellent, both boiled and when fried with blubber, and after 
satisfying our own wants we collected a supply to take with 
us to the wintering-station We had also the good fortune 
to meet with a couple of seals, of which we killed the female 
to provide ourselves with meat and blubber I went up the 
fell a couple of times to look for fossils, though without 
success, but various mosses and lichens were gathered for 
Skottsberg 

The storm increased m violence, so that it threatened to 
cast both the boat and us into the sea. We were, therefore, 
obliged to hang large stones on to the edge of the boat, especi¬ 
ally to windward, in order to keep our craft on land, and then 



BOAT-EXPEDITION FROM PAULET ISLAND. S 75 

we took refuge in the sleepmg-bags. But it was neither easy 
nor agreeable to sleep amidst music which was a mingling of 
the shriek of the penguins, the howling of the storm, and the 
thunder of the sea, whose waves were not more than forty feet 
distant from our camping-place. 

But in spite of the tempest we awakened on the 4th of 
November refreshed and m good spirts, and spent the time in 
making coffee and eating penguin eggs, while we waited for the 
storm to cease. Towards evening the wind subsided somewhat, 
and went over more to the west, so that at about seven o’clock 
wc determined to make a start. The whole way along the 
edge of the glacier the water is very shallow, so that at low tide 
the shore lies quite dry, with a number of rocks, large and 
small By ro.30 p.m. we were 111 the bay at the depbt-place, 
but it was impossible to land on account of the state of the 
tide There was no shore here, but only a high ice-edge, so 
that we were obliged to wait for high-water However, we 
made fast the boat at last and left two men m it to keep 
watch, whilst wc others went on shore to investigate the state 
of things at the depot, etc. We found a small stone-hut and 
a pole with a board attached to it, in which it was stated 
that J. G Andersson, Duse and Grunden had spent the 
winter there from the nth of March to the 28th of September, 
1903. Over the board was a flask containing documents and 
a sketch-map of their route. On their first journey they had 
been obliged to return m consequence of insuperable diffi¬ 
culties, and now they had left this spot m order once more 
to attempt to reach Snow Hill 

We took a part of the old tarpaulin, which we needed in order 
to form a shelter mside the boat, but the rest of it we laid once 
more over the splendid collections left on the spot. We also 
took one of the poles which they had used as a support for the 
roof of their hut We intended using this as a mast, and 
although it was not so good a piece of timber as one could 
wish, it would doubtlessly last a part of the way. 

The next day we collected eggs and made the mast ready, 
but we could not think of departure, on account of the in- 



ANTARCTICA. 


5 7<J 

cieasing storm, which continued, the whole night and did 
not begin to abate before four o’clock, or so, on Friday morning 
We then made everything clear for starting, but scarcely 
were we ready to put the boat in the water, than the storm 
again began to increase, the bad weather preventing us from 
making a stait that day too. 

Early on Saturday morning, the 7th of November, the 
weather was at length calm and hne We broke up at 4 a.m , 
and then rowed the whole day m the direction of Sidney Her¬ 
bert Bay Only here and there did we meet with scattered 
ice. The fine weather continued the whole of the next night, 
and we were making rapid progress towards our goal when, 
]ust as we passed Cape Gage and came into Admiralty Sound 
we met with a hinder which could not be iorced by the boat. 
We found the ice extending in a straight hue right over the 
bay towards Cockburn Island and Cape Seymour, and inwards 
across the whole of the sound, So at 2 a.m. we drew the boat 
up on to the ice and retired to resL, of which we were in great 
need, having sat at the oars ever since early the preceding 
morning. We chd not turn out before xx a m., when we took 
our meal of coffee and fish-balls, for we were obliged to 
“stand” something good, as we were so near our destination. 
About twelve or fifteen miles now separated us from the 
wmlenng-station, towards which all six of us started at j in 
the afternoon It was a toilsome and troublesome march, lor 
the snow was so loose that every now and then we sank into 
it up to the knee But by 10 in the evening we had reached 
the shore below the station, and were received first by 
Bodman, who shouted jubilantly, “ Larsen ! Larsen ! ” and 
began to cheer, so that everybody came hurrying out of 
the house. The reader can easily picture our mutual 
gladness, but we were quite astounded when all the others 
—everybody speaking at the same time—told us breath¬ 
lessly that an Argentine vessel lay off the island, and 
that we should all be home for Christmas. Overpowered 
with joy on hearing this unexpected information, we 
thought how glad our comrades on Paulet Island would 



BOAT-EXPEDITION FROM PAULET ISLAND 577 

be when we came with the Argentine vessel to bring them 
off. 

It need not be said that numberless questions w T ere heard 
on all sides, and that the news exchanged amidst the general 
joy by the reunited parties of the Expedition, which had 
so long been separated from each other, was both various and 
remarkable. 

Early the following morning, the gth of November, began 
the transport of the things from the wintering-station down 
to the Argentine ship. The dog-sledges were loaded, and off 
they went across the ice as fast as a man could run, with nine 
dogs for two sledges It was a real pleasure to see that the 
animals could draw such heavy burdens. Dr. J G Andersson 
and I went 011 board with the first boat-load, and I met with 
the heartiest reception imaginable on the part of Captain 
Inzar and all his officers. No introduction was needed. 
Captain Irizar at once guessing that I must be Larsen and 
embracing me It was really affecting to be thus greeted by 
the representatives of a foreign nation. 

It was quite another sort of journey we made the next day 
when we directed our course back to Paulet Island. But it 
has already been described by Dr. Nordenskjold, and, there¬ 
fore, I am not under the necessity of saying anything about it. 



S?8 


CHATTER XXIV A 

" HAIL I HAIL • THOU NORTHERN LAND ! ” 

Spungtmie—The penguins lelurn—Egg gulheimg—-We oalom fill—Wc discuss the 
pinspect ot the auivftl of a lelicl vessel—“The boat—hmrah 1 "—Faievvell to 
Paulet Island 


IT is spring. The sun quite 
bums one ; it is really warm 
and refreshing ; the snow begins 
to melt on the slopes and runs 
m streams down on to the 
plain where the penguins sit in 
close-packed multitudes. A 
never-ending din arises from 
these tens of thousands of crea¬ 
tures , a din outvoiced now and 
again by the discordant shrieks 
of some fighting birds. We go 
lounging about the whole day 
long, sated and happy ; the time of sorrow is past and gone, 
and that of hope is come ; yet a little time and we know 

that a sail will appear on the horizon, and then- 

But we quite expect that we have a couple of months ot 
waiting still before us. We are as yet only at the beginning 
of November, and we shall be here till Christmas or the New 
Year, or perhaps even longer. But what does that matter ? 
There are plenty of seals, and the penguins will not come to 



* This Chapter is by C. J. Skottsberg 




Winter hut on Paulet Inland* surrounded by penguins 


ANTARCTICA. 


580 

an end in a hurry, and then, we shall have the egg-time here 
soon I suppose—we have spoken about it several tunes. 

It is the 6th of November, and early in the morning I hear 
cries of exultation around me, and peep out from amidst my 
rag-bed, and there stands Duns* in the middle of the passage 
with ins hat full of eggs; large, white, round pengum-eggs! 
How we shout and laugh all together ; wc possess a poultry- 
yard woith having ! But we must not care for the needs of 
the day alone ; in a week or two there will be no more fresh 
eggs, and it is a matter of great importance for us to have 
a supply for the next few months ; out here the eggs keep 
fresh for a long time without any special treatment. 

Armed with buckets, off we go on our expedition. No 
stufe, no palm ! We have to submit to blows and pecks ; 
the penguin is small, but he is a jolly good fighter, and our 
legs are sore when the day’s work is ended. 

Oh, liow we revel! Fiied eggs, boiled eggs, raw eggs, eggs 
m soup, in coffee, 111 tea : I am a temperate man and never 
ate more than a score 111 one day, but I know of a sailor who 
ate three dozen in the same time. 

It is the xoth of November. Wc lie indolently in our 
sleeping-bags, contented with the day’s work ; our store of 
eggs now amounts to a total of 6,000. It is so very agreeable 
to always feel satisfied after meals ; how many of my readers 
know what it means to lie in cold, and darkness, and hunger, 
week after week ? But believe me when I say that a man 
learns to appreciate the day when he can eat his fill without 
being obliged to think of economising. 

Our conversation that evening, as on so many other 
evenings, turned on the rescue—we speak of it now in the 
definite form. And suddenly one of us has a curious idea, 
and asks the rest, “ What should you do if a boat came and 
began to whistle here in the sound, without anyone being 
prepared for it ? ” What a question ! We should probably go 
mad with joy, though we have had time to prepare ourselves for 
the arrival of the ship. But who could think at the moment 
that we should be put to that test the very same night ? 

* One of the seamen 




yiq OuunvMX 


ANTARCTICA. 


582 

I did not sleep at all quietly alter going to bed, but crawled 
out of my bag just befoie 4 a.m. and crept softly outside. 
A deathly silence reigned ; the sea was as smooth as a mirror 
My gaze was directed as usual to the horizon, but there was 
nothing to be seen there—-nothing And why should there be 
anything ? I went mdoois with a sigh, shut the door behind 
me, crept into the bag again and made up my mind to sleep. 

But what m all the world— 1 A discordant sound breaks the 
stillness of the night; a well-known sound, but one incon¬ 
ceivable just heie. No ; I must have been dreaming.—The 
sound is repeated—it must be so—it can be nothing else— 
the boat is here ! I am out of the bag. I thump at the sleepers 
beside me : “ Can’t you hear it is the boat — the boat —the 
boat ! ” — “ A boat ! HURRAH ! ” Arms wave wildly 111 
the air ; the shouts are so deafening that the penguins awake 
and join m the cries , the cat, quite out of her wits, runs 
round and round the walls of the room ; everybody tries to be 
the first out of doors, and in a minute we are all out on the hill¬ 
side, lialf-dressed and grisly to behold. Hurrah 1 There she 
is , we dare scarcely believe our eyes, but it must be true , we 
shall see home again , we shall be home for Christmas ! There 
is an oar. carrying the yellow and the blue of Sweden, stuck 
m to a snow-drift near the corner of the hut; here we have 
a piece of Scandinavia that will soon be reunited to the 
mother country ' 

It is an iron boat down here amid the ice—a new wonder 
An Argentine man-of-war—it is almost incomprehensible ! 
Breathless with expectation we stand on the ice-wall by the 
shore , I cannot take the glass from my eye-—the first boat is 
approaching. More and more clearly can I distinguish my 
comrades—there is Gunnar Andersson, there Karl Andreas 
Andersson, and, actually, it’s Duse himself standing in the 
bows 1 They leap ashore ; there is no end to our exultation , 
questions and answers fill the air. Here comes Karl Andreas 
and gives me a glass of “ zoological ” spirit; Bodman has 
some bits of sugar for me ; Duse, a piece of chocolate and a 
cigarette ! It is my first banquet after the rescue. 



■‘HAIL' HAIL! THOU NORTHERN LAND I" 583 

The hut is soon filled with provisions for a depot; the door 
is barred; I have passed over its threshold for the last time. 

I am m a ship that moves—I can scarcely comprehend it 
Slowly we glide away, away from the island, whose dark 
peak looms above us as threateningly as before But I cannot 
take my eyes away from it. I can hardly grieve that our 
prison-doors have been opened, and yet, it is with a sense of 
sadness and of regret that 1 see Paulet Island disappear behind 
the dazzling mland-ice—disappear maybe for ever. 

Has it not been my home ? 



CHAPTER XXV.* 


THE JOURNEY HOME ON BOARD THE URUGUAY. 

Visit to Hope Bay—The Argentine Relief Expedition—Anival at Sliuteu Island and 
at Santa Cut?—Once raoie on the Rio de la Plata. 

ERE we finally quitted the 
Antarctic regions there was 
still one work of interest to 
be attended to. J. Gunnar 
Andersson had stored up at 
Hope Bay a magnificent 
collection of plant fossils and 
other geological specimens, 
the fruits oi long and arduous 
labour We turned into the 
sound ]ust after passing the islands which I have named, 
after our rescuers, the Argentine (Irizar and Uruguay) 
Islands, and stopped at last otf the bay. The weather 
appeared very threatening, so that only J G Andeisson and 
myself went ashore. There stood the ruined hut which, now 
that the roof and the inner tent wall had been removed, 
appeared little more than an ordinary stone-heap, but even 
in its present condition it bore witness for the future of what 
human beings had done in this place. Round about swarmed 
the membeis of the large colony of penguins, glad, no doubt, 
at once more being undisputed rulers oi their ice-covered 
world. 



# The lasl two Chapters are byPDi. Nordenskjohl. 


THE JOURNEY HOME ON THE URUGUAY 585 

Night was [ailing when we again trod the deck of the 
Uruguay The work is at length ended—the two years’ 
work m the world of ice, and the eighty-six hours of almost 
incessant labour which formed so remarkable a conclusion 
to that period We were now able to repose in quiet for a 
while, until the arrival of the moment when our lives should 
once more mingle with the pulsating stream of civilised exist¬ 
ence. 

At this point my account of the Expedition could very well 
be concluded But as a frame for the picture which I and 
my comrades have endeavoured to paint in the pieceding 
pages, our impressions from the period of transition which 
now followed—if one may so term a time so unlike that which 
had gone before, that it would be difficult to find any points of 
comparison between them—may be of interest to the reader. 

It was quite natural that we had a most lively wish to learn 
everything possible about the Expedition which had made its 
appearance as our rescuers. Independent of the steps taken 
in Sweden for our relief, the celebrated Argentine scientist, 
Dr F. P. Moreno, proposed a plan for a relief expedition which 
should be sent out by the Government of his country, and, 
thanks to the energetic measures taken by the Minister of 
the Navy of the Argentine, Commodore Onofre Betheder. 
the plan became a reality The intention at first was to pur¬ 
chase an Arctic whaler m Norway or in Scotland, but as no 
suitable vessel could be obtained in either country at that 
season of the year, it was determined to employ the Uruguay, 
a cannon-boat of an old type, after making tlie alterations 
necessary for the voyage. It is evident that such an iron ship 
could never be turned mto a good Polar sea vessel, but nothing 
was neglected that could be brought about by the help of 
money, and, as a matter of fact, very little was left of the 
original vessel 

Captain Julian Inzar, then the Argentine naval attache 
in England, was recalled in order to become the leader of the 
Expedition Before returning home, Captain Inzar paid 
a visit to Sweden and Norway, in order to confer with members 



586 


ANTARCTICA 


of former Arctic Expeditions resident in those countries. 
The second in command was Lieutenant Hermelo ; the other 
officers being Lieutenants Jalour and Fliess, with Lieutenant 
Chandler Banncn as the representative ot Chili. Dr. 
Gariochategui was the medical officer, and J. Bertodano and 
G. Cairmnatti were tlic engineers. 

According to an agreement which had been made, the 
Swedish and the Argentine Relief Expedition were to co¬ 
operate, and for that purpose the lattei patty was to -await 
in Ushuaia the arrival of the one from Europe, but not until a 
later date than the 1st of November. But the Swedish 
vessel, the Fnthjof, was delayed on the way over, and Captain 
Inzar considered that he was not justified m delaying the 
departure of his vessel after the day fixed. 

It would have been strange, oi course, had Inzai and his 
companions not rejoiced at the success which had attended 
their cntei prise , but, even under such circumstances, mention 
should be made oi the splendid way m which we were received 
on the Uruguay , nothing being omitted which could serve to 
make oui stay on board as agreeable as possible; and it is 
with feelings of the liveliest gratitude that I testily to never 
having experienced greater peisonal amiability and com¬ 
plaisance. 

An important question which had to be decided at once 
was that of the course the vessel should now take And 
as we, as well as Captain Inzar, had the greatest wish to 
reach a telegraph station as soon as possible, instead of being 
obliged to have recourse to the uncertain communications vit 
Ushuaia, it was determined that alter a visit to the Argentine 
magnetic observatory on New Year Island, our next port of 
call should be the easily accessible harbour of Santa Cruz 

We had passed the South Shetlands, and so had left the 
Antarctic world behind us in good earnest, but the stormy 
weather with which we had made acquaintance in those 
regions still pursued us. 

The passage, in consequence, became one ol such duration, 
that it was not before the 18th of November that we reached 




The Argentine observ-aturj un Mew Yeai Island 





ANTARCTICA. 


588 

Staatcn Island. Bodman and Sobral landed on New Yeai 
Island, whilst the lest of us went on with the vessel to the 
principal island, wheie we intended to anchoi m Cook 
Harbour, and afterwards return to bring off the two who had 
gone on shore. The boat soon put off again, as many of us 
as possible hastening to seize the opportunity oi once moie 
setting foot on solid earth. 

I shall never forget the impression given me by the ice 
and the loneliness ol the Antarctic world, when T formed its 
acquaintance four days after out departure horn the same 
place where we now found ourselves The same impression 
was now made on me again, but m a reveisc order Cook 
Harbour itself is a very grand piece of water, bounded by 
precipitous, wood-clad mountain sides and lofty, boldly- 
formed peaks, where in some places patches of snow could be 
still observed. I will not now quote all the former visitois 
who have described the scenery here as tenible m its desolate 
wildness, as these accounts aie cvidenLly very much exag¬ 
gerated. But apart from this, one could scarcely find a 
more striking example of the saying that everything depends 
upon comparison, than the impression now made upon me by 
this scenery. 

The day was rainy and we still wore the same thick clothes 
we had had on when crossing Drake Strait. We landed on a 
little strip of shore, covered with variegated nibble-stones and 
washed by small waves, but, however different this appeared 
to what usually met the eye 111 South Polar tracts, I lorgot 
everything in the inexpiessible pleasure of once more behold¬ 
ing the green glass And what is that peeping out between 
the stones yonder 5 A flower, little and unimportant, and yet 
what a flood of feelings does it not call forth ! I go further 
inland, first under the closely arching bushes of beech, and 
then down into a little valley where the trees are higher. 
What overpowering magnificence and verdure and richness 
these trees have, even if they be compared with other growths 
than the almost invisible lichens which for us have long been 
the representatives of the world of plants ! And when I see 



THE JOURNEY HOME ON THE URUGUAY 589 

some barberi y trees ovcrstrewn with their red bell-lilce flowers, 
I feel myself suddenly transposed to a veritable paradise. 
Insects aie flying about m the an, amongst them some large 
yellow moths, while crowds of small birds are twittering in 
the bushes aiound me. I am scarcely able to proceed ; the 
sun does not burn with that roasting heat which one occa¬ 
sionally experiences m the snow-covered south, but with a 
moist, suffocating warmth which one would not even dream 
of as existing m Antarctic regions It feels as when one is in 



P/ioto 


In Santa Cnu 


[O. Bo DMAS. 


a hot-house, but the wood around me is no hot-house vegeta¬ 
tion ; it is rich, true nature, and if I have to compaie the 
feelings I experienced at the moment with anything else, it 
must be with the sensation that came over me when I first 
viewed the glory of tiopical forests. 

But one soon grows accustomed to thmgs, especially when 
it concerns a landscape which, m a certain degree, can be com¬ 
pared with that which constituted our ordinary surroundings 
ere we began this journey Very soon we begin climbing 
amongst the rocks in spite of the warmth, and on coming 


590 


ANTARCTICA 


to a small patch ot snow, welcome on account of its coolness, 
it is difficult lor me to remembei that, but a week ago, ice and 
snow were the undisputed rulers of all oui world 

Aftci calling early on the 20th lor the two comrades we had 
left at New Year Island, wc again steamed northwards, and 
on the afternoon of the 22nd began to ascend the Santa Cruz 
river We are once more about to take one of those giant steps 
which shall transform us—the first settlers m West Antarctica 
—to ordinary representatives of western civilization. We 
see a large river—itself a novelty to us—and on its bank human 
dwellings, a whole group ol houses, an Argentine estancia A 
flock of sheep is moving over the grassy slopes, and yonder 
comes a ndei How strange it all appears to ns ! By-and- 
by, a row ol houses gradually appears on the horizon ; we look 
intently through our glasses at the first town we are to visit. 
And over theie—all glasses aie quickly brought into use—we 
see, for the fiist time lor two years, a representative oi 
womankind 

But it is nothing oi all this which has brought us here. 
The moment has now arrived when we shall announce to the 
world what we have done, and inform our nearest and dearest 
that wc are at last on our homeward way. I had written an 
account of the fate of the Expedition, in as detailed a form as 
circumstances permitted, winch was intended to be forwarded 
telegraphically to H.M. the King of Sweden ; telegrams were 
to be sent to the President and the Naval Minister of the 
Argentine Republic, and nearly all of us had written short 
telegraphic greetings to our friends in the North. I at once 
went on shore with one of the ship’s officers. We were met 
on the bank by a whole crowd of people, wondering, ques¬ 
tioning, and loudly lejoicing when they learned ol the success 
which had attended the Relief Expedition sent out by their 
country We hastened to the telegraph-station, where it 
took several hours to read and sort all the telegrams, but before 
we left the place the first news was already being spread over 
the world, conveying the intelligence, both of our wonderful 
adventures, and of the geographical and scientific exploiation 



THE JOURNEY HOME ON THE URUGUAY 591 

of the northern and eastern coasts of West Antarctica clown 
to the Polar Circle. 

We rapidly pin sued oui journey northwards from Santa 
Cruz amid increasing warmth and improving weather All 
our cares were devoted to letter wilting , every place on board 
where an inkpot could -find standing room being constantly 
occupied On the morning of the 30th of November we once 
more steamed up the mighty, yellow mass of water called the 
Rio de la Plata, and m a suffocating, tropical heat that felt 
equally oppressive however thin the clothing we assumed, 
the Uruguay cast anchor in a hidden bay, where a part of the 
work necessary foi our reception in Buenos Ayies—such as 
painting and cleaning—could be executed without fear of dis¬ 
turbance from heavy seas. 



592 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

FROM BUENOS AYRES TO SWEDEN 

Our leceplion m Buenos Ayies—Om journey acioss the Atlantic on hcuicl the Tijiua 

—Home 1 


THE South Polar Expedition 
was concluded. We lay 
waiting lor wliat was to 
follow, amid tiopical heat, in 
a region where millions ot 
men moved and lived, near 
the greatest centre of popula¬ 
tion in the southern hemis¬ 
phere. For us it was a 
moment of great excitement. 
The reader must remember that the latest news we had 
received from our native country was now nearly one year 
and a half old, and what might not have happened during 
that long interval oi time ? And, moreover, what could 
we expect that the world would say of us and of our enter¬ 
prise ? We knew that we had obtained results, better, 
perhaps, than those we had dared to hope for when we 
began the voyage, and our consciences told us that we 
had done our duty as far as the circumstances would allow 
us. But we had encountered exceptional difficulties and even 
actual misfortunes, and that one little word “ reverse ” has so 
often caused the world to forget results, and to judge unmildly 
of those who have not succeeded in everything 




FROM BUENOS AYRES TO SWEDEN. 593 

We lay m the little bay, busily occupied with our work, 
when, towards midday, we caught sight on the horizon of two 
pillars of smoke rapidly approaching us, and a practised eye 
was soon able to distinguish two Argentine naval vessels, 
which were usually employed in hydrogi aphical work on the 
La Plata They steer directly towards us, swing off sharply' 
to one side and steam round the Urugtiay, while their bands 
play and they dip their colours in salute. Boats put off, and 
m a short time theie is a whole crowd of naval officeis of all 
ranks gathered on our deck. Stoims of congratulations were 
heard on every side, and, what was most welcome, we received 
the most important part ol our post, the telegrams, from my 
mother, news that all stood well, from His Majesty the King, a 
recognition 111 gracious terms of all that we had done, con¬ 
gratulations from personal friends and from friends of the 
Expedition. Even though the greater number of us remained 
without news, theie were, on the other hand, none who received 
sorrowful intelligence on this occasion Not before these 
telegrams were read could we receive with glad hearts the 
overflowing goodwill we experienced on all sides 

What a difference between this scene and the silent, peaceful 
life on Snow Hill' We were, of course, constantly torn away 
from any work we happened to be at, m order to answer all 
manner of questions put by newspaper representatives We 
were already besieged by supplicants who desired to have 
our signatures on illustrated post-cards—this expression of 
interest afterwards attaining such dimensions that the whole 
of the time we remained m Buenos Ayres would not have 
sufficed to satisfy everybody’s wishes. The delay in our 
landing had one undeniable advantage, viz : that we gained 
time to obtain the most necessary articles of clothing, readily 
supported m our endeavours by the tailors and clothing 
affairs of the city, who now commenced an almost too brilliant 
business with the members of our party. 

On the morning of the 2nd of December we break off all 
communication with the shore. By 2 p.m. everything is m 
motion around us, and steamers dressed in bunting are seen 

33 



594 


ANTARCTICA 


everywhere At 2 30 the Uruguay hits anchor and moves 
slowly toward the land. As we glide onward, we pass the one 
steamer alter the other , large and small; all lestively clad and 
packed full ol passengers, who greet us with vivas and waving 
of handkerchiefs, while bands play and the steamers keep 
up an incessant concert with their steam-whistles. It is im¬ 
possible to conceive the noise and rej oicmg ; the procession 
soon numbers more than forty steamers, moving partly 111 line 
with us, and paitly in our wake 

We approach the shore and swing into the narrow opening 
to the docks Everywhere, as far as the eye can see, the banks 
are lined by innumerable ciowds ol people ; every building 
and plantation, all the quays and the ocean-stcamers lying 
neai them aie decorated with Hags and are lull of people 
At the far end ol the dock we have entered rises a lofty tribune, 
at the foot of which the Uruguay lays to. All that is brilliant 
in the capital has gathered here to receive us. The chairman 
of the reception committee bids us both welcome—the Swedish 
Expedition, whose long absence has caused such uneasiness 
and which has now returned after the completion of its labours, 
and the Argentine, which so brilliantly carried out its mission 
of rescue. The Minister for the Navy speaks in the name ol 
the Fleet, and hands to Inzar his commission as capitain 
de fragata 

It was now time to get into the carriages which are to carry 
us through the streets to the Naval Club at the calls Florida, 
wheie a reception is to be held, but it was scarcely possible for 
us to make our way through the crowd to the equipages. It 
is difficult to give any idea of the scene that now followed ; 
ilwas possible only in a metropolis and m one with a southern, 
lively population. I have no idea how many people were 
about, but probably there were several hundred thousand. 
It was generally said that such a scene had never occurred in 
Buenos Ayres before. The carriages made their way slowly 
and with difficulty between the crowds who greet us incessantly 
with thousand-voiced vivas. Everywhere we had to receive 
flowers ; poor artizan families had supplied themselves from 




The Untguay entering the harbour at Buenos Ayres. 





ANTARCTICA. 


596 

the public parks, while most valuable bouquets were thrown 
to us from other quarters. They were all equally dear to 
us, and so much the more that they were the first flowers 
we had seen for years. Our carriages were filled with them ; 
the streets were carpeted with blossoms and leaves thrown 
to us from window and balcony, but which failed to reach 
our hands, who but a few weeks ago were dwelling lonely or 
shipwrecked amidst the eternal ice. 

I am quite aware that the greatest part of this popular 
greeting was meant for the Expedition sent out by their own 
land. I was heartily glad ol the fact, for the Uruguay's 
officers and men were certainly well deserving of it. Boldly, 
courageously had they gone forth on their task, in a vessel 
that was by no means well-suited for the purpose, and we, on 
our side, had the greatest reason for being thankful to them. 

But the general rejoicing also showed that Polar Explora¬ 
tion has become popular there in a way which is unusual in 
all but a few of the countries of Europe and North America. 
If it be true what has often been said, that interest m what 
are, m the first place, undertakings of ideal worth, is a measure 
of the culture of a people, then that day’s celebration was 
most certainly a proof of the high standpoint of the Argentine 
nation ; and no one who saw this reception, and who also 
remembers all the earlier proofs of goodwill shown by that 
country to, and experienced by, our Expedition, can ever 
doubt that m a near future we may expect to witness the com¬ 
mencement there of independent enterprises whose aim will be 
the furtherance of Polar Exploration. And for the knowledge 
that our Expedition with the Antarctic lias contributed to 
the awakening of this interest, I would willingly offer far more 
than what the loss of our vessel meant and means for us. 

The intention had been to arrange a grand procession past 
' the Naval Club in honour of the Expedition, but it proved to 
be impossible. The crowd became altogether too immense, 
and we were glad to be able to reach the place ourselves. 

The following days were for us one long unbroken chain of 
festivities; invitations of all kinds, visits and ceremonial 



FROM BUENOS AYRES TO SWEDEN. 


5 97 

calls occupied our time so completely, that I had no oppor¬ 
tunity of doing even the most necessary work. Still less 
could there be any thought of finding time to see the city and 
its environs, although a more favourable occasion for doing 
so could scarcely be imagined. 

We determined to leave Buenos Ayres on the ioth of 
.December by the Tijuca. On the previous evening, the 
Argentine Geographical Society had arranged a solemn recep¬ 
tion for us in the largest theatre of the city, and in the pre¬ 
sence of more than 3,000 peisons, amongst whom were as¬ 
sembled all that was representative and brilliant m the 
capital, I there gave a lecture on our Expedition, whilst 
Lieutenant Jalour and Mr. Skottsberg gave a short account, 
the former, of the Uruguay’s journey, and the latter of the 
loss of the Antarctic 

A few words will suffice to speak of the remaining period 
that the members of the Expedition spent together. The 
journey over by the German steamer, the Tijnca, was the 
pleasantest imaginable, and though we were after all once 
more obliged to spend a Christmas and a New Year far from 
our homes, it could not have been m the midst of more 
agreeable circles In Madeira we were met tty the repre¬ 
sentative of a French newspaper, and at Vigo by a Swedish 
journalist, both of whom had come out m order to have an 
opportunity of learning about our adventures and the results 
of our explorations. At Boulogne, where we stayed for half 
an hour in the middle of the night, we were received by a 
deputation, headed by the Mayor and the president of the 
Chamber of Commerce there, who presented us with a 
magnificent epergne of flowers in the French colours. On the 
6th of January we arrived at Hamburg, and while on the 
Elbe were welcomed by the directors of the steam-boat com¬ 
pany, by representatives of the Scandinavian colony in the 
place and of scientific circles, etc. 

At eight in the evening we continued our journey north- 



ANTARCTICA 


598 

wards. The following day was spent in Copenhagen in agree¬ 
able intercourse with geographers and Arctic travellers. 
Towards evening we went on board the steamer which was 
to take us to Sweden. I walked alone on deck when the 
lights from my native coast began to glimmer through 
the night, here m solitude I sent up a prayer of humble 
thankfulness that I and so many ol my companions had been 
permitted to live to see this moment A few moments more 
and we lay to by the quay at Malmo. 

There were great crowds of people in motion ; we were 
welcomed with flowers, and then taken in carriages the 
short distance to the railway station. On entering the portal 
I stood still, overwhelmed with surprise The large hall was 
filled by an enormous choir, which, on our entrance, sang : 
“ I know a land, far m the north that lies.” The tears 
rushed into my eyes , this, then, was my country’s greeting, 
and a dearer one I could never have had ; these first minutes 
on Swedish earth were of import mighty enough to wipe 
out tor ever the memory of years of difficulties. 

»{c ^ ^ ^ pj^ 

And thus the hour for parting was at hand ; but, happily, 
arrangements had been made for us to perform the journey 
to Stockholm in company, and there separate. I had, in 
truth, many reasons for desiring to thank my comrades m 
this hour of farewell More powerful support than I received 
from my two nearest men, the leaders of the wintering-stations 
at Hope Bay and Paulet Island, Dr. J. G. Andersson and 
Captain Larsen, no leader of an expedition can ever have 
had, A more competent and a more industrious scientific 
staff than the'men who were my companions, cannot well be 
found, and in times of the greatest difficulty, as well as in 
hours of success, the officers and crew of the Antarctic had 
followed ns without complaint, ever willing to undertake the 
severest labour and to make the greatest sacrifices, in order 
that they might not swerve from the traditions of the earlier 
Polar Expeditions which have left the brother lands whose 
name ( is Scandinavia. 








Goo 


ANTARCTICA 


It is an eventful story we have told in the pages of which 
this is the last. Between the day of our departure fiom 
Sweden m the Antarctic, and the January evening when we 
once more tiod the soil ol our native land, lie, for us, two 
years of perpetual winter spent in South Polar regions 

The demand of science, that no part of the globe shall 
remain untouched by the hand oi investigation, was the force 
that drew our little band to the land of the farthest south 
The strife has been a sovcie one ; more than once success has 
seemed to fly us, and wc have suffered losses that none of us 
can evet forget. But in spite of everything, we readied our 
goal, we have brought back the results of the first com¬ 
prehensive researches within half a continent, and have made 
more unexpected discoveries than we could ever have dared 
to hope for. 

For-a single fleeting moment we have been permitted to 
lift the veil that hides the land of greatest mystery the 
earth now owns. For us, the time seems to have been long 
and our journeyings wide—but how short, how little, weie 
they amidst the great whole. A brief moment--a slight 
track amidst the snow—and the eternal world ol ice lies there 
as lonely as before Once more the penguins live their quiet 
lives, and the storms drive on in paths unmarked by 
human eye. 

But ever thus it shall not be. Again, and once again, new 
bands will journey thither to follow in our footsteps, pass 
beyond our bounds. But by us, the first workers in those 
regions, the years will never be forgotten that we spent 
together there, nor the wondrous way in which our changeful 
and divergent fates were linked at last together,